The Game
by hahamoodancecow
Summary: When 3 girls come to Konoha High School, all chaos breaks loose when the find themselves in a deadly game. Pairings: NaruHina, SasuSaku, NejiOC, GaaOC, ShikaTema, KibaIno. Sorry for the suckish summary! IN- PROGRESS!
1. The Girls

Sakura Haruno. 16 years old and loving it. Excellent grades, impulsive attitude, and a tendency to break things when she's mad. Last Crusaders medic and is expected to be a doctor when she grows up. Is a slight flirt and loves shopping and the colors pink and green. Is best friends with Ino Yamanaka and Temari and thinks that Ketyn was born on a football field. Plays tennis and swims.

Ketyn. 16 and dreading the fact that she has two years until college. Failing grades, but only because she skips classes. Incredible fighting skills, an overprotective streak, and a tendency to blow up science rooms. Is expected to be a street fighter when she is older. Thinks that shopping, boys, and dresses are all a waste of time, and prefers to wear black and green. Childish and sarcastic. Is best friends with Hinata Hyuuga and thinks that Saku needs to learn to loosen up. Plays soccer and dances. No last name because she is an orphan from Suna.

Hinata. 16 years old and hoping her friends will soon mature. One of the heiresses of the richest man in Konoha, she is used to maids and being spoiled. But she grew sick of it and moved in with her friends Ketyn and Saku. Exceptional grades, a very shy personality, and a tendency to clean when she's nervous. Is expected to be a therapist when she grows up if she could get past her shy phase. Thinks that Ketyn is too overprotective for her own good, and hopes that one day Saku will watch what she says to other people and that Sakura and Ino will stop shopping long enough to realize that there's more to life than boys. Plays soccer and dances. No last name because she dropped it when she left home.

Saku. 16 and hoping Hinata will get past her shy streak. Another heiress of a successful businessman, Saku ran away when she was 10, saying that she was sick of all the royalty shit that everyone kept giving her. Went to her friend Ketyn's house and stayed there with Ketyn and Hinata until they left for a private school in Suna. When they all returned to Konoha, the girls continued to go to the public school until high school. Has a tendency to cuss and thinks that boys are a waste of her "valuable" time. Plays softball and tennis. No last name because she never really tells you who she is.

Ino Yamanaka. 16 and loving every effing moment of her life. Has a tendency to shop when she's upset… or when she's happy, angry, serious, fun, emotionless, etc. Her bffafs (best friends for all eternity) are Sakura and Temari, and her bffes (best friends for ever) are Ketyn, Saku, and Hinata. Loves driving in her car, even though in the three months she's been driving, she's had 12 tickets. Her driving is the least of her worries, though, because her parents continuously say that if she doesn't bring her grades up then they'll cut off all her savings. Is expected to be a street racer when she gets older. Is a cheerleader and swims.

Temari. 16 years old and wishing that she had friends that were so much more sensible. Is also expected to be a street racer when she grows up. Hates shopping, loves boys, and thinks that cheerleaders are ridiculously stupid in every way. Has been driving for 9 months and has NEVER been caught speeding, even though she goes over the limit when she backs out of the driveway. This is probably because any officer who has pulled her has experienced some… ehm…. _flirty_ moments. Has always loved cars. Plays softball and runs track.

**Welcome to the world where only one wins, and it's every team for themselves. Where everyone is violent, deadly, and cunning. A world that holds a dark secret that will put people's lives at stake. **

**A world where terror and anger are your keys to survival. Welcome to where your worst nightmares and your wildest dreams are realized. Where darkness is your friend, silence is your survival, and humans are your enemy. Where safety is not safe and calmness is not calm. **

**Where love is the one thing that holds you back. **

**Welcome to The Game. **


	2. The Boys

Sasuke Uchiha. 16 years old and wishing he wasn't. Excellent grades, calm and serious attitude, and a tendency to attract unwanted fan girls. An old friend of Konoha High, and a player in The Game. Leader of his group, the Last Crusaders. Is expected to be a CEO when he grows up. Hates his brother Itachi. Comes to think of Ketyn as a younger sister. Though he doesn't admit it, he's best friends with Naruto and Neji, even though he always competes with Naruto and constantly fights with Neji about the stupidest things.

Neji Hyuuga. 17 years old and the only Hyuuga male that doesn't have a stick up his ass. Excellent grades, calm and quiet attitude, and a tendency to fight with Sasuke. Hates Konoha High, but he's gotta go to school somewhere. Second- in- command of the group the Last Crusaders. Is expected to take control of the Hyuuga estate when he grows up. Best friends with Sasuke, Gaara, and Shikamaru. Plays soccer and football.

Shikamaru Nara. 16 and the _laziest_ person you will ever meet in your life. A genius at school, Shikamaru has the top grades in the 11th grade. The "nerd" of the Last Crusader. His specialty is computers: hacking, tracking, information, etc. Is expected to join FBI when he grows up. Best friends with Gaara, and one of the few people who can calm him down when he gets angry. Also best friends with Kiba, and the only one who really understands him.

Naruto Uzumaki. 16 and loving every effing second. Hyperactive attitude, failing grades, and a tendency to compete constantly with Sasuke, most of which he loses. Is expected to join the circus when he's older, and if that doesn't work out, he'd make a hell of a great professional spy or James Bond wanna- be. The only person that can control Sasuke's temper. Thief of the Last Crusaders. He's determined to keep the people he cares about safe. Best friends with Sasuke and Kiba.

Kiba Inuzuka. 16 and keeping the good times going while they still last. Hyper attitude, failing grades, and a tendency to crash cars. Is expected to be a stunt driver when he grows up. The only person who's immature enough to think that Santa really does exist. He's the second thief in the Last Crusaders, but he also makes some plans with Shikamaru. He may not seem like it, but he's got a hot temper and is determined as hell. Best friends with Shikamaru and Naruto.

Gaara Sabaku. 16 and the only person in the group with enough common sense to realize that in 2 years they'll all be looking for a college. Calm attitude, passing grades, and a tendency to get _too_ into The Game. Though he doesn't look like it, there are people in his life he would take a bullet for: Shikamaru, Sasuke, Neji, and Saku. He's the member of the team who specializes in assassinations and murders. He'll do whatever it takes to keep his friends out of danger. Best friends with Neji and Shikamaru.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Writer's Corner

Hiya! It's me again, don't know my name, read my info. We're gonna have a new thing here, it's called the Writer's Corner, which you're reading now. And also, I added in two characters: Kiba and Temari, so if this looks different to all those who are re-reading, that's why. Hey, also as a note, no one in my story is related to one another in any way, shape, or form. This means Hinata is not cousins with Neji, Gaara is not brother to Temari and Ketyn, and Saku is not Sasuke's sister. Also, Naruto and Sasuke are like brothers.

RANDOM INFO: (these are all people that come up later and minor characters no one cares about)

Daisuke (Die-ske) = Kankuro's group- b

Tsuki (Soo-ke)= Ami's group- b

Yuki= Ami's group- b

Kou (Koo)= Sound group- b

Yoji= Sound group- b

Aoi= Kankuro's group- b

g= good guys b= bad guys

-Kankuro's group: Dominant Hypocrites- b

(villains)

-Ami's Group: The Dirty Dancers- b

(pole dancers)

-Sound (Zaku's) Group: Sound Absence- b

(unimportant)

-Sasuke's Group: The Last Crusaders- g

(the superheroes!)

-Kyo's Group: The Guilty Shotguns- g

(sidekicks)

-Emiko's Group: Rising Emos- g

(sidekicks of the sidekicks)

-NOTE: Ami loves Sasuke, Tsuki is dating Kabuto, Daisuke is flirty with Hinata, Kou is flirty with Neji, Zaku and Kin are dating, and Kankuro flirts with Ketyn, Karin loves Neji

-Every team has a teacher that is somewhat with them: Kakashi= Last Crusaders, Kurenai= Dirty Dancers, Asuma= Dominant Hypocrites, and Orochi= Sound Absence. The teachers help w/ info and supplies

-Kyo and Emiko's groups= College, but used to go to the Academy and help the Last Crusaders


	3. New School

Okay, so btw, NO ONE IS RELATED! THAT MEANS THAT GAARA AND TEMARI ARE NOT RELATED, AND NEITHER ARE HINATA AND NEJI. ALSO, I NORMALLY MAKE KETYN BEGAARA'S TWIN, BUT NOT THIS TIME. AND I ALSO NORMALLY I MAKE SAKU BE SASUKE'S TWIN, BUT NOT THIS TIME!!!!!! Got it? Good! Now on with the story! :D

Saku sighed as she waited in the office. The principal had told her and her 'sisters' to wait there until she returned, but it seemed to take forever. She looked over at her best friends, Ketyn and Hinata.

Ketyn was a sarcastic, childish girl with long, curly, bright red hair always in a ponytail and jade green eyes. She fought constantly, and was always looking for an excuse to be a smart- ass. Like Saku, she was wearing the customary uniform of a white shirt, a black and blue plaid skirt, a black tie, knee- high socks and black Converse, but her shirt was not tucked in and her tie was loosened enough so that the loop was by the fifth button on her shirt instead of the first. Her sleeves were also rolled up to a three- quarter length instead of all the way down.

Hinata Hyuuga was a quiet, shy girl with shoulder- length straight midnight blue hair and pale lavender eyes. She too wore the uniform, thought it seemed much more cleanly on her, possibly because her shirt was tucked in and her sleeves down and tie tightened. She never fought, but she did clean. A lot. This was because it helped her think and because she liked things to be orderly. She was the one that stopped Ketyn and Saku from killing each other when they started to argue.

Saku herself was a serious, mature girl with short, wavy black hair and deep onyx eyes. She also fought, but her specialty was guns, unlike Ketyn, who used knives. She could be sarcastic when she wanted to, but she was mostly the 'mother' of the group, or so Ketyn called her. This was because she made sure the girls stayed out of trouble and kept them protected and educated. She also wore the uniform, however, her shirt was not tucked in and her tie loosened a little bit, but not nearly as much as Ketyn's.

The three girls were nothing alike, but to keep people from asking why they stayed together, they said they were sisters.

In truth, the reason they stayed together in the same apartment was because they were really close, and Saku and Hinata didn't have another home. Saku had left her home when she was little because she hated how she was treated like royalty when she wasn't, and Hinata left to grow more confident and prove to her father that she wasn't useless. Ketyn had never had a home because she was an orphan from Suna. So when the three girls had met, they decided to live together since they all knew what it was like to not have a real home.

The principal walked into the room now, and Saku straightened up and looked at the woman. Tsunade sighed as she sat down and said, "Alright, here are your classes. Unfortunately, I couldn't get you all in the same classes, but you are in some together."

Saku nodded and took the girl's schedules. Then she looked at Tsunade and said, "You said there was something else to tell us?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "Yes. There's the Game we need to talk about still."

Hinata spoke up. "What is the Game?" she asked quietly.

Tsunade looked at the girls silently, then began her explanation.

"The Game is a gang thing that goes on at this school. There are four gangs, which are called teams. The teams compete against each other for various things that they need, thought the whole reason for the Game is so kids can take out their anger with mindless violence. These teams have different positions that people fill in order to make a full team.

"First there's the leader of the team. He or she makes sure that the team knows what they're doing and what's going on in the game. They can also be a fighter if they want.

"Next is the second- in- command. They're normally the ones that lead the fighters; help them train, make sure they know how to use weapons, all that.

"The fighters are the ones that pave the way for the assassins in an attack. They fight with knives and the occasional gun, but their specialties are their fists. The fighters are specially trained in fighting skills of every kind; some are so good they can knock a person out by a poke to the neck. Fighters also have to be trained on the human body so that they know where to strike that would be the most effective.

"There are two drivers, who drive the team to different missions. They only drive and do not participate in the fight unless absolutely needed.

"After them are the assassins. The major difference between assassins and fighters are that the assassins use guns and are trained to kill in several ways, while fighters use knives and their fists, and they don't kill as well as assassins. Fighters mainly knock people out and clear the way for the assassins. One person also normally leads assassins.

"The central system of the team is mainly run by the 'nerd' of the group. The nerd is the one that does all the computer stuff: tracking, hacking, and support system. They don't fight at all.

"The medics are the people in the team that take care of you when you're hurt. For instance, if you get shot by an assassin, you go to the medic, who bandages you up and makes sure you get the proper medicine. They do not fight unless in an extreme emergency.

"There's normally a housekeeper/secretary in the team. They're job is to keep the house the team lives in clean and cook for the team. They don't fight either unless absolutely necessary.

"Finally are the thieves of the team. They are fighters and also steal stuff that the team might need but can't afford, like clothes, weapons, and cell phones.

"All of this makes up the perfect team in the Game."

With that, Tsunade leaned back and watched the girls take this in.

After a moment, Saku sighed and said, "So, why are you telling this to us?"

Tsunade smiled and said, "The teams are low in numbers right now. They'll be looking for new kids to recruit, and three girls that just came here are perfect for some teams. So if you plan on joining the Game, chose your team wisely."

Ketyn grinned and spoke up for the first time. "Who's the best team for us?" she asked.

Tsunade grinned and said, "The team you want depends on what positions are open."

Ketyn thought a moment before answering, "How 'bout a housekeeper, a fighter, and an assassin?"

Saku stared at her friend. Was she crazy? But the girl was dead serious; she was finding positions for all three of them.

Saku sat back and thought about this. _It could be an interesting experience,_ she thought. _And it would make Ketyn happy_. She looked over at Hinata and saw that she was interested, too. Saku sighed. _All right, Ketyn and Hinata would be happy, _she thought. _And I can't deny that I'm a bit excited about this._

Tsunade was looking at Ketyn and answering her question. Saku snapped back just in time to hear the woman say that a group called the Last Crusaders were looking for people to fill those positions. The group was led by Sasuke Uchiha, one of the most popular boys in the school. The second- in command was Neji, another popular kid that was serious and smart when it came to fighting, and the assassins were led by Gaara, a cold, emotionless boy that was something to really be terrified of.

Ketyn grinned and said, "Well, we'll look into it. Thanks, Tsunade-sensei." She then stood and left the room. The other two girls followed her example.

Outside of the room, Saku burst. "Ketyn, you can't seriously be considering this Game thing!" she exclaimed, obviously shocked and angry.

Ketyn looked at the furious girl and said, "Yes, I am. This is a good way to make a place in this school. And besides, it sounds fun."

Hinata spoke up now and said, "Let's get to class and we'll talk about this later, okay?"

Saku sighed in defeat and followed Hinata to their classes. One thing's for sure, she thought. Hinata really knows how to break up a soon- to- be fight.

The girls agreed they would talk about this later and hurried off to their homeroom classes, to which they were already late.

------------

At Saku's class, the door was closed, so Saku knew it meant she would have to stand in front of the class and introduce herself, something she hated to do. She sighed and pushed open the door.

Inside of the room, the students were either messing around on their computers or talking to the person near them. The teacher was not at his desk, and, from the looks of it, not in the room. Saku took this thankful opportunity to sit down in an empty seat in the back next to a blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes. The boy turned and smiled at her, which she returned hesitantly, all the while thinking, _what if he's part of this Game?_

The boy certainly didn't _look_ dangerous. His hair was spiked and messy, and his eyes were sparked with curiosity. The boy was wearing the standard guy's outfit of a white long sleeve shirt, a black tie, tan pants, and black sneakers, even though the shirt was slightly wrinkled, the first two buttons of his shirt were undone, and the tie was loosened a bit. The sleeves were also rolled up hastily, like they were last minute things the boy had forgotten.

The boy turned to Saku and introduced himself as Naruto Uzumaki. He was seventeen years old. Saku returned the greeting with her name and age, which was sixteen.

Another boy sat not too far away from Naruto and Saku. Unlike the other boy, this one had black hair and eyes, and his uniform was neat, even though his tie was loose and his sleeves were rolled up as well. His eyes didn't shine with a childish curiosity like Naruto's, but it was obvious he was confused and curious about Saku. Naruto pointed him out as Sasuke Uchiha.

It took Saku a while to figure out the familiar name. _He's the leader of the gang in the Game, _she thought. _The Last Crusaders._ She didn't say anything, though, just smiled and gave a short wave, which he returned. Naruto grinned and said, "Yeah, he's a bit more serious than we'd like, but that's okay!"

Sasuke glared at him and said, "Go to hell, Naruto." His voice was a little bit deeper than Naruto's, bit still the voice of a high school kid. Saku sighed and thought, _at least now I know he really does belong in high school. Otherwise I'd think he was supposed to be in college but got held back._

The bell rang and the kids filed into the classroom, sat down, and continued talking from their seats. Naruto kept talking to Saku and asking her questions, but whenever she asked questions about the Game, he would clam up for a second, then say something completely random to start a new conversation. Saku soon gave up on trying to get information out of the boy and instead answered all of his questions and responded with other questions about himself and his friends.

When asked about his friends, Naruto replied that his friends were like summer and winter. The girls that he knew were Sakura, Ino, and Temari.

Sakura was the 'mother' of the group. She always took care of them when they were sick and kept the house semi- clean.

Ino was the ambitious girl. She loved being outside and was a boy at heart when it came to cars, just like Temari. However, Ino was girlier when it came to clothes, while Temari didn't "give a damn."

Saku nodded during his explanation, thinking, _so Sakura sounds like the medic, and Temari and Ino sound like the drivers. _

Next were the guys Naruto knew, which were Sasuke, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Gaara. Neji and Gaara were the more silent type, the Gaara was more so.

Gaara hardly ever spoke, and when he did, it was cold and cruel to most people. He preferred violence to debate when it came to solving problems.

Neji was somewhat like that, but not as cold and not as silent. He was only advanced when it came to science, in which he excelled.

Sasuke was the 'leader' of the group. He was the most commanding, as well as the first one to take control. He knew _everything_ about the going-ons of the school and the group.

Kiba was like Naruto, meaning ambitious and childish, which Naruto admitted proudly. They had been caught by the police on several occasions, from shoplifting to trespassing to holding illegal guns.

Shikamaru was the genius of the pack. His IQ was over 200, but he was also exceedingly lazy. His favorite hobbies were literally cloud watching and sleeping, both of which he said "helped him think."

_So Sasuke's the leader, Naruto and Kiba are the thieves, Neji is the fighter, Gaara is the assassin, and Shikamaru is the nerd, _Saku thought. _So why don't they want to tell me?_

She shook this off and thought, _they're probably just thinking that I don't know about the Game. So how do we get on their team? I guess they'll ask if they need us._

Naruto looked at her while she thought about this and suddenly said, "Who are your friends?"

Saku snapped back and turned to look at the boy. "None of my friends are in this room," she said.

Naruto grinned and said, "Okay, but tell me 'bout them!"

Saku grinned and said, "One of my friends is named Ketyn. She's childish, loud-mouthed, messy, sarcastic, a smart- ass, and is failing every class in school except for anatomy. She's impossible to miss because she's gonna be the only one at the school that trips over frickin' air. Plus, she's got bright red hair, which is like a flashing light; also impossible to miss."

Naruto laughed and said, "I like her already, and I haven't even met her yet!"

By then Sasuke had turned and was listening as well. Now he spoke up and said, "Anatomy? As in the study of the human body? How'd she get in an advanced class like that if she's failing everything else?"

Saku shrugged and said, "It's one of the greatest mysteries of my life."

Sasuke chuckled and said, "Any other things about her?"

Saku thought a moment before nodding. "Yeah," she said. "She's from Suna, and she's an orphan, so she had to protect herself a lot since Suna is the City of Thieves. So she's great when she fights, especially with knives."

At this Sasuke and Naruto both stopped and stared at her. Saku shrugged as if to say, 'I don't know if that'll help you to get to know her but I'm totally innocent. I wasn't hinting anything.' But in her mind she thought, _maybe that'll earn her some points in Sasuke's book._

After a moment Naruto grinned and said, "Any other friends?"

Saku nodded and said, "My friend Hinata is the polar opposite of Ketyn. She's mature, quiet, clean, thoughtful, caring, and excels in every class except for science. She's got dark purple hair and lavender eyes, and she cleans. A lot. It's cause it helps her think or something like that. She's also graceful, so it won't be as easy to spot her in a crowd because she blends in like a black thread on an emo shirt."

Naruto nodded as he processed what the girl was like. After a moment he smiled and said, "Well, your friends sound nice!" Sasuke nodded in agreement.

At this time the teacher came in, so Saku turned to look at him. The man was about thirty years old, had white spiked hair, and had one eye showing. A cloth covered the other. He was also wearing a mask that covered the rest of his face.

Saku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _What the hell is wrong with this guy? _she thought.

The teacher turned to the class and said, "Okay, talk quietly until homeroom is over, got it?" The class nodded and the man went to his desk, pulled out a book, and began to read.

Sasuke turned to Saku and said, "That's Kakashi. He teaches Literature and English here as well. He's incredibly lazy and always reads his porn book. Oh, and he's also always late to class."

"Why did you say English and Literature separately?" Saku asked.

"Because some kids are from foreign places like Suna, and they can't speak English," Naruto explained. "Like my friend Gaara, but he doesn't take the class."

Saku nodded in understanding. Ketyn was like that, too. The native language of Suna is Spanish, so Ketyn sometimes forgot the language switch. When she was angry or overly excited, she began speaking rapid Spanish until someone stopped her and explained that no one could understand what she was saying. Her accent was also very heavy; for instance, sometimes she rolled her 'r's and the accent was very Spanish sounding some of the time, but mostly when she was frustrated. Saku told her new friends this as well, and Naruto laughed.

Just as the last words were coming out of Saku's mouth, the door burst open and Ketyn shot in, nearly tripping over a wire on the floor and catching herself on the table. She stood up, pretended to brush imaginary dust off of her, looked around, and said, "Am I in the wrong room?" The class was silent for a second; then…they laughed. A lot. Kids were literally rolling on the floor and crying, they were laughing so hard.

Ketyn glared at them and said, "You guys are mean!" Which only made the class laugh harder. Naruto was laughing at this scene, and even Sasuke was chuckling. Saku sighed and said, "That's Ketyn."

Kakashi now intervened and said, "Please leave. You are disrupting my class."

Ketyn looked at him and said, "I would if I knew where the _hell _I was going, but I don't."

Kakashi sighed and said, "I don't care where the hell you go, just get out."

Ketyn glared at him then rapidly began speaking Spanish.

Naruto turned to Saku. "What's she saying?" he asked. Saku listened a moment, then laughed.

"She's saying something along the lines of: you're a porn-o teacher who is incredibly perverted and stupid and you probably can't understand what I'm saying and your whole world probably revolves around that porn book in your hands and I can't believe that you're mean enough that you won't even tell me where the hell the Gai person's homeroom is and he sounds like a freak just like you, only you're a freak and a jerk," Saku explained.

Naruto laughed and said, "She pretty much hit the nail on the head there. Gai- sensei _is_ a freak, and Kakashi is a pervert/freak/jerk. But she's gonna get in trouble since Kakashi speaks fluent Spanish."

Saku laughed quietly and said, "That wasn't just Spanish. It was Greek, Italian, Romanian, and French, as well as Spanish. Ketyn may fail almost every class, but on the streets of Suna she learned how to speak all of those languages. Spanish is just the only one she's really fluent in. And I can understand all of the languages because that's what happens when your dad is a rich world traveler like mine was."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. "That's what it was like for me, too. But now I live with all of my friends and this guy," he said, pointing at Naruto. "He's like my brother."

Naruto grinned and said, "Yeah, we're like brothers, alright!"

Saku smiled and said, "That's nice. You must have really good friends."

Naruto laughed and replied, "You can bet your bottom dollar on that!"

By this time Ketyn had spotted the three talking, and when Saku looked her way again, she saw that one eyebrow was raised in confusion. Eventually Ketyn shrugged and flashed Saku a 'we'll-talk-about-this-later' look, then took the directions Kakashi had written down for her and ran off to her classroom. Saku sighed and thought,_ Well, this should be fun._

Okie dokie, so chapter 3 is up, and chapter 4 is on the way! Sorry it took me forever to write this, but I've been having brain meltdowns. If anyone who reads this has a super cool idea for a chapter, lemme know and I'll definitely write it, and possibly put you in as a character, as long as you tell me the name you want used! Chapter 4 is gonna be about Saku, Ketyn, and Hinata as they meet the gang and talk about the Game. KEEP READING AND REVIEW!!!! R&R!!! PLEAZ!!!!!


	4. Meeting The Gang

Okay, so this part is when the girls "officially" meet the gang, and also get offered to join their gang. Relax; the cool kick- ass stuff comes soon. I promise. And now we introduce Ino and Temari: Phone Conversation.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

_Hey, Ino, you there?_

"Yeah, I'm…I'm here."

_Out of breath, huh?_

"Just a little. I'm better now."

_This Game is getting complicated._

"You said it, Temari."

_We really should get another fighter._

"Well, until then, we can't leave Neji hanging."

_I know, but we're drivers. We're not supposed to fight like this._

"I know the Rules, Temari. But we're short three players."

_Well, Sasuke better find some new ones._

"Let's hope so. I don't wanna lose."

_Me neither._

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"So Saku, who was the boys you was talkin' to?"

Saku smiled at her red haired friend. "First of all," she said, "it's were, not was. And second, they're Sasuke and his thief. Thief's name is Naruto, and they have no idea that we know about them."

Ketyn grinned and said, "Great. So now what?" She looked at her friend expectantly. Saku had always been the one who took action.

Saku shrugged and said, "I guess just…see what happens. Let it play out on its own."

Ketyn nodded thoughtfully and said, "Who else is on the team?"

Saku smiled. Leave it to Ketyn to want to know very detail. "The second- in command is a guy named Neji, and the assassin leader is Gaara. The drivers are two girls named Ino and Temari, the medic is Sakura, the other thief is Kiba, and the nerd is Shikamaru."

Ketyn grinned and said, "So we'd be a perfect fit. You never said a fighter, an assassin, or a housekeeper."

Saku opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and nodded. She would have said that she didn't think that they were going to ask the girls to get in, but anything was possible in this school. Besides, the two guys sure had gotten to know the three girls, if only through Saku's description and a short glance at Ketyn and her personality. They might have a chance.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I ran into the classroom, late again. This time I had math, and though I had wanted to skip it, Saku had said that I couldn't skip any classes on the first day, and Hinata and me usually followed what the older girl said.

So in I ran, slightly ruffled from running to the class. As I walked in, I saw that the kids had already started to write down what the teacher had written. _Damn, _I thought. _Now I gotta introduce myself._

The teacher saw me and came over, saying, "Alright class, this is a new student." Then she turned to me and said, "My name is Kurenai. Welcome to the class. You must be Ketyn." I nodded, and the teacher turned to the class and said, "Alright, students, this is Ketyn. She's here from Suna."

"You mean that hil- billy city?" One kid shouted, and the others laughed. I looked at the boy. He had brown hair and black slit- like eyes and really sharp canine teeth, so that they slightly stuck out of his mouth.

I grinned at him and said, "I dawn't think mai accent sawnds like a hick accent!" Everyone burst out laughing. Even the teacher couldn't help it. I grinned and sat down next to a girl with pink hair. She looked at me and grinned, then said, "Hey, I'm Sakura. You don't really sound like that, do you?"

I laughed and said, "Nah, though I do have a slight accent, or so I'm told."

Sakura nodded and said, "I can hear the Southern drawl behind your voice. I think that's really cool, though. Having an accent. I've got a friend who has a slight one, too. Though you almost never hear it, 'cause he barely talks. His name's Gaara."

I nodded and thought a moment then almost gasped as I recognized the girl's name. _She's on Sasuke's team! _I stayed cool though, and said, "Hey, I have a question." _Might as well trick her to saying she's on the team. _

Sakura turned and looked at me. "Sure, what's up?" she asked.

I sighed quietly and said, "When I was in Tsunade's office, she said something about a Game. What's that about?"

Sakura though a moment, then turned to me and quietly said, "Basically it's where a bunch of kids form teams and fight each other for control of the school. No one's won the game in over 50 years, not since it was started."

"Wow, that's a long time to be playing a Game," I said, pretending to be surprised. Tsunade had already told us this. "So, are you on a team?"

Sakura looked kind of nervous then, and I regretted asking. She obviously wasn't supposed to say. But I had already asked, and I was curious.

Finally she nodded and quietly said, "I'm on Sasuke's team. I'm the medic."

I nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell that you told me that."

Sakura smiled her gratitude and said, "So, do you want to be in The Game?"

I nodded and answered, "It sounds pretty cool, actually. I'm just trying to find a team that'll take me and my friends."

Sakura smiled and asked, "What positions would you and your friends be interested in?"

_Well, now or never, _I thought, and calmly answered, "I want to be a fighter, and my friend Saku wants to be an assassin, and my friend Hinata wants to be a housekeeper slash secretary."

Sakura thought a moment, then grinned and said, "I may be able to convince Sasuke. Come sit with us at lunch, and we and talk about it."

_Lunchtime, Last Crusaders POV_

The team was all around their usual table, talking about their next assignment. They were supposed to steal a Samaria sword from a museum, but they didn't know how they were going to do it.

"I say we just send in Naruto and Ino and have two fighters outside incase. Those two can handle themselves," Gaara said to Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged.

"We need to have more people on the inside. Security is tight there and we need more than our thief, distracter, and a few fighters to be there." Sasuke argued.

"Hey! We could so handle it on our own!" Naruto said. Sasuke shook his head.

Two girls came in the cafeteria, and everyone turned to stare. One had short, black, straight hair that reached the top of her neck with side bangs, and onyx colored eyes. The other had bright red, loosely curled hair that reached her mid- back and jade green eyes.

"Da-amn," Kiba whispered to the other guys.

The girl with the red hair was looking around.

"It's not polite to stare," The girl with black hair said.

"It's me! I'm already famous at this school!" The other girl said, striking a pose. The other girl rolled her eyes while all of the people laughed.

"Don't make any more of an idiot of yourself than you already are," The black haired girl said, slightly annoyed.

"Hey, Sakura!" The red haired one said, coming over to the table.

Sasuke looked over at her with a looked that said, "What the hell did you say?" Sakura just shrugged.

"Hey Ketyn. What's up?" she said to her new friend.

"The ceiling. This is my friend, Saku," Ketyn said introducing the girl with black hair. Saku gave them a nod.

"What are you here for?" Sasuke said, annoyed.

"Well, you're a nice little dick aren't you?" Saku said, smirking. Sasuke glared and stood up.

"What did you say?" he said, clearly pissed off.

"What, do I need to spell it out? Quit being an annoying bastard or you'll walk out of here covered in blood."

"Oh really? Bring it, bitch."

"This isn't going so well," Ketyn said, moving Saku away slightly from Sasuke.

"Come on, let me show this mother fucker who the hell he's dealing with!" Saku argued, glaring at her friend, but Ketyn shook her head.

"Not the smartest way to make an impression," Gaara said to her.

"You want some too?" Saku said, looking at him. Gaara held his hands up in mock surrender.

"No. It's obvious that you could be a great fighter. I just like my face the way it is," Gaara said.

"Oh, she can't really fight to save her life. She's way better with guns. Saku could kill a guy with one shot," Ketyn said, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world that a sixteen year- old could do that. Sasuke's eyebrows rose.

"And you?" he said Ketyn.

"I'm more of a fist fighter," Ketyn said to him, smiling like it was a good thing.

"You said you had another friend with you. Where is she?" Sakura asked.

"Hinata? Probably in the library or something," Saku said, shrugging.

"She'd probably be a housekeeper. Oops! Damn, I slipped," Ketyn said, covering her mouth.

"So Tsunade already told you?" Shikamaru said.

Ketyn turned to look at him and said, "Wait, who are you?" Then she thought a moment and said, "Hell, I don't know who any of you are except for Sakura!"

Sakura smiled and stood up to stand next to her friend. "That's Shikamaru, and that's Kiba, and Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Gaara, Ino, and Temari," she said, pointing to each of them.

Ketyn nodded and looked at where Sakura pointed. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Howdy!"

"Hil- billy," Kiba said. "It's like math class all over again."

"Hey! I don't really sound like that!" Ketyn exclaimed.

Everyone turned to Sakura for an explanation. She shrugged and said, "I'll explain later."

At that moment, another girl came into the cafeteria. Everyone also turned to stare at her. This girl had shoulder length, midnight colored hair that was swept from her face. Her eyes were lavender, and she seemed a little less outgoing.

The people in the cafeteria stared at her until Ketyn shouted at them, "Stare all you want at her but she ain't gonna do a trick for ya!" Some people laughed, and the others just shook their heads in amusement. The girl blushed at the attention she was getting and bit her lower lip, obviously nervous.

Shikamaru turned to look at the other two girls and said, "What's wrong with her? She's actually normal, and that can't be physically possible considering how she lives with you two."

Saku glared at him, but Ketyn just laughed and said, "She's naturally shy and naturally innocent. She's one of those girls who are really sweet and quiet. I don't know how she managed to stay that way after she moved in with us."

"So she's the youngest," Shikamaru said, guessing.

"No, that would be Red over there," Saku said, sticking her thumb at Ketyn, who had gone over to talk to Hinata quietly.

"So you insult her, too?" Sasuke asked, catching the fact she had called Ketyn Red.

"Duh. I insult almost everybody. Except Hinata."

"Why not Hinata?" Ino asked, finally joining the conversation.

"'Cause I actually like Hinata," Saku said like it was obvious. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Ok, so are we in or not?" Ketyn said. Hinata looked at her in shock.

"No! Don't tell me you actually want to do that Game thing. Come on, don't do this to me, guys. You two'll get killed!" Hinata protested, fear and worry clearly shown in her eyes. Naruto gave her a small smile.

"They won't get killed. We'll make sure of it. All of us are pretty careful when we have missions." He said reassuring her. Hinata bit her lip again.

"They'll be fine. You're all in, if you can demonstrate what you can do to us," Sasuke said.

"Sweet!" Ketyn was jumping up and down in a mini victory dance.

"Where did you want us to show you?" Saku asked him.

"How 'bout the gym after school? Kiba and Ino will come get you three," Sasuke replied, looking at Kiba. Kiba smiled and nodded.

"As long as he doesn't call a hick again, we won't have any problems!" Ketyn said, glaring at him.

Kiba opened his mouth. "Hi-," he started, but Ketyn cut him off.

"I'm in a good mood, don't make me hurt you," she said, glaring at the boy. He grinned and nodded.  
"Fine," he said, and Ketyn nodded.

"Good," she replied.

"I feel as thought there's a whole different conversation that you two are silently saying, and leaving the rest of us out of," Sasuke said.

Ketyn smiled and said, "We made an agreement that he couldn't call me hick unless I did something really Southern, and in return he doesn't die young!"

"Wonderful," Sasuke replied sarcastically. "I can't afford to lose a thief."

Ketyn nodded and turned to look at Hinata to confirm something, but the girl had left.

"I gotta go ask Hinata something. Later guys!" she said, and ran out of the cafeteria.

Saku sighed. "I'll go see what she's doing," she said. "Later." Then she left, too.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair. "I think they'll do," he said, and Neji nodded in agreement.

"They seem alright, but we'll see how good they actually are," he said. The rest nodded and left the cafeteria.

_The gym, after school, Gaara's POV_

As I waited for the three girls to come in, I watched Neji and Sasuke mock fight with each other. They each had a gun with plastic bullets in it and a wooden knife. I watched as they moved back and forth.

Suddenly I heard a door slam open and shut. I looked and saw Saku and Ketyn standing at the doorway, watching Sasuke and Neji as well. I watched Saku for a second. _Wow, she's hot, _I thought. _Wait, I can't think that. It's a rule of the Game…_

The two came over to me and watched with me for a while. The match ended with Sasuke holding a gun to Neji's head.

Or so he had thought. Neji suddenly switched the knife from his dominant hand to the other and held it at Sasuke's heart.

"You're dead, Neji," the black haired boy said. Neji smirked.

"I'm not alone, Sasuke," he replied calmly. Sasuke laughed, then saw the two and gestured for them to come over. I followed, knowing I would end up being involved anyways. _Which sucks, _I thought.

Sasuke looked at Ketyn and said, "Fight with Neji for a second. If you win, you're in."

"Bring it!" the girl said. Neji smirked.

"Just try to beat me, redhead," he said. Ketyn just raised her eyebrows and ran at him suddenly. The rest of us stepped out of the way.

The idea for a fighter wasn't to be silent and invisible, like an assassin. A fighter was pretty much a distracter, fighting to bring down the pawns in the Game. In chess, they would be the pawns and knights, protecting the king, or the leader. The assassins would be the castles and the bishops, moving in when all of the pawns have made their move. They moved stealthily, making sure that no one would suspect that they would actually do harm. The queen would be the thieves, always doing some of the most harm without anyone knowing, like stealing pieces. In the Game, the thieves would steal important pieces that were needed for the team.

Anyways, the fighters were the pawns. At least, that was how I looked at it. But watching Ketyn and Neji fight, I began to think differently.

The way they moved was like a dance. He would move and she would move with him. When he struck, she would move out of the way and strike from behind. He would always move, too, and the dance would continue.

The dance ended with a knife in her back and a knife in his stomach. Both were breathing pretty heavily, but Ketyn was still grinning. She threw the knife to the ground and looked at Sasuke. "Who died?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "I think you both did," he said. Ketyn smiled and fell to the floor, pretending to be dead. Neji poked her with his foot.

Saku rolled her eyes. "You have too much fun sometimes, Ketyn," she said to her friend.

Ketyn jumped up. "I know!" she said happily.

Sasuke grinned and looked at Neji. "Out of ten?" he asked. Ketyn tilted her head and looked at him with confused eyes.

"Nine," Neji said. Sasuke nodded and turned to Ketyn.

"Congrats. You're in. Now we just gotta confirm your friend here," he said, pointing his thumb at Saku.

I nodded and took Neji's place. "Come kill me, Saku," I said.

"That's the first time someone's asked, but okay." The girl took the other gun with the plastic bullets and went to the spot across from me. She waited for me to start.

I nodded for confirmation and disappeared. I ran quickly towards the bleachers and waited for something. After a moment of silence, I peeked out and saw that she was gone. I smirked. _Good girl. _Rule number one of an assassin was never to wait in the open, because you'd die almost immediately.

While scanning the room for the girl, I saw a slight movement by the curtains. Behind the curtain was the storage room for equipment, and nothing would make it move. Nothing except a human. I loaded the gun and fired once. _Thank God I put a silencer on the gun, _I thought.

I waited for the bullet to make a noise, confirming it had hit something, but nothing happened. It didn't even hit the wall. _What the fuck? Where'd it go?_

Then I heard it. On the other side of the gym. Opposite of where it should've hit. Granted, it was pretty cool how she did that, but how exactly did she do that? _This girl's good. Even if she does lose, she'll get in._

The next noise I heard was the sound of someone loading a gun about five feet away from me._ Fuck._

I dodged just barely in time. The bullet hit where I had just been five seconds ago. I turned and held the gun up to her, not seeing her but knowing she was there. No one was that fast.

There was no noise for a second, and I had the feeling she had me trapped. I closed my eyes but kept the gun steady. Then I heard what I was listening for.

The faintest of breathing, to soft for a man, about five feet to the left of me. Right where my gun was pointed. _Bingo._

Then I heard another noise and smirked. A click. She had her gun loaded and was pointing it at me.

"You realize that you just made a big mistake, right?" I murmured.

"We'll see," came the reply. Then she fired.

I dodged it and ran out into the opening, knowing that she would be headed this way. She wouldn't stay in one place after she shot at me. She was smart enough to know that would get her killed.

I saw her move behind the curtain and followed. She was looking the other way, but was ready to turn if she heard a noise, meaning that I would have to be really quiet.

I snuck up and quietly loaded my gun one last time, knowing I wouldn't need the bullet. Then I held it to her head and felt her stiffen.

I smirked and leaned towards her. "Bang," I whispered in her ear. Her breathing picked up slightly, and her pulse quickened just barely. Then she whispered back, "Look down." I followed her instructions and laughed. For the first time in four years, I laughed. Not a bitter laugh, nor an evil laugh. Just a laugh. Her gun was behind her back, pointed at me. It had been this whole time. She could've shot, but she had been waiting to see this whole time. Waiting to see if I would be stupid enough to fall into her trap.

Apparently I was.

I turned and called out to Sasuke. "I'm dead, man."

Sasuke laughed and said, "Damn it, Saku, did ya really have to kill him? I need all the assassins I can get." Saku turned and grinned at me.

_Wow, she's pretty when she smiles._ The thought crossed my mind before I could stop it, then ran like hell before I could injure it. _Gotta remember the Rule! It's one of the most important ones…never fall in love with another player, even if they are on your team. Revenge, mainly, if they get hurt, but it's a Rule, and I better damn well figure out how to stop feeling something for this girl. Besides, I just have the hots for her right now. It'll go away._

Saku turned and walked out from the curtain. "Sorry, Sasuke," she called out. "Didn't mean to kill him, but he told me to."

I heard Naruto's voice. "You killed Gaara?!?" I had to hold back another laugh at the sound of genuine panic in my friend's voice. He really thought I was dead.

I walked out from behind the curtain and stood next to Saku. She nodded and said, "Yep, he's really dead, Naruto."

Sasuke sniffed the air and said, "Wow, does it smell really sarcastic in here?" Saku raised her eyebrows with a look on her face that said, "Damn right it does."

Naruto stared at me like he'd seen a ghost. Then he smiled and ran at me. "Gaara, you're alive!" He stopped in front of me and scanned me quickly to make sure I really was alive, then grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes at the boy and said, "Yes, Naruto, I'm really alive, believe it or not."

"You won't be if you keep that smart-ass tone with me," Naruto said, smirking.

"Bring it on!" I called back, sneering at the boy. I was Gaara! No thief could beat me. Yeah, I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but it's bringing up my self- esteem.

Naruto lunged at me, and I stepped smoothly out of the way. He spun on his heels and held a knife to my back. "Admit defeat," he said. I just smirked. Suddenly, I was gone.

Well, not exactly gone. I wasn't Houdini, for God's sake. I just happen to run fast.

The boy never saw it coming. One second a knife was at my back, the next a gun was at his. He spun around, but it was too late. I fired.

Of course, the bullets were plastic, but they still hurt. It hit Naruto in the stomach, but he just held his stomach and grimaced. He was stronger than that.

He soon straightened out and said, "Fine, you win." Ha! I always win. Well, almost always. I glanced sideways at Saku, who was watching this with an amused look on her face. She was the first. The first to beat me, the first to make me laugh in four years, the first to make me feel…good. Not good as in the superhero, instead of the bad guy. I was still the bad guy. But good as in better. Happier. _This is…scary._

_Saku's POV, Later in the day_

_Well, that went well. _I was sitting on my bed in the apartment I shared with Ketyn and Saku, typing on a report that was due in two days. Since I would be moving tomorrow, I had to try to finish it now.

Moving. The thought sent shivers up her spine. Moving in with people who actually might like her. Of course, they could hate her, but the fact that she had found people who thought like her made her feel better. _Especially Gaara._

The thought was true enough. They were the only two assassins, and they had the same attitude. Cocky and deadly. Ready to fight the world and win. Even if he was a guy, he was different. All the other guys she had ever met were insensitive bastards. At least Gaara was an insensitive bastard who was a little less down- key.

I stared at the blank computer screen. The topic for the English paper was to write a short story based on the subject given to you. My topic was romance, and I didn't know where to begin. I glanced at Ketyn, who was sitting cross- legged on her bed, typing away. Her topic had been mystery, which was easy enough. All she had to do was write about a person who was killed and then make the killer someone totally unexpected that had some big dramatic reason for killing the person in the first place. Hinata had sci-fi, which was also easy because all she had to do was write about the apocalypse and a guy that tries to stop it with all these fancy and imaginative gadgets that no ordinary person could possibly get. But romance? Mush about how a guy meets a girl and falls head over heels for the girl, then something dramatic happens where he leaves and she goes gaga over some other guy while he's gone. Then he returns and sees her with the other man and goes depressed, and the woman realizes she loved the first man and rushes into his arm, where they have this big, passionate sex scene and get married on the beach at sunset. Yuck. I sighed.

Wait. Can't romance be tragedy? I thought about every romance I'd been forced to read. _Hamlet_ and _Romeo and Juliet_ were two of the greatest romances of Shakespeare's time. Yet the main characters all die in some dramatic way. I smirked and began to write.

_It started under the apple tree. Mid- summer, 2007. Lydia was a poor teenager trying to make her way in the world. A nobody. Invisible to the world. Jason was the jock that every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be. The star of the football team. But when she moves to his street, he realizes his feelings for her run deeper than just study partners. _

It was a start. I continued about how Jason fell in love, and Lydia grew to love him. Then I twisted the plot and had a big shooting at the school, where Jason falsely learns that Lydia was one of the victims, when she really had left the city the day before with her mother. Depressed and desperate, he fell into a wave of emo anger, where he slit his wrists daily and refused to do anything. Finally he can't take it anymore and shoots himself, with a suicide note saying that he's going to meet her in Heaven. When Lydia realizes this, she too goes depressed and stabs herself with her mother's butcher knife while cooking dinner one evening. Then they are separated again forever when she remains a ghost and he goes on to be an angel.

I leaned back, satisfied. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. And it had just the right amount of depression to make any person cry, which was what was supposed to happen when someone read a romance novel, anyways.

_Yeah, it sucks, but it'll do. _I heard Hinata lightly call my name and glanced at the clock. _What the fuck? It's after seven thirty! _I had been writing for two and a half hours. _Wow, I really got into that. Weird. _I shrugged and walked down the stairs and into the living room, where Ketyn was sitting on the couch, watching the news and eating a salad with Italian dressing. I smiled at my friend and went into the kitchen. I got myself a salad as well and put Ranch dressing on, and then went to the living room. I sat down next to Ketyn and said, "So, what're they saying this time."

Ketyn shrugged. "Something about a girl that was found raped or something like that." Ketyn watched the news for the death stories, because she liked to figure out who did it before the police. She had street smarts, not book smarts.

Hinata walked in and sat in the armchair. She had a bowl of cereal. Hinata looked at Ketyn and said, "I can't believe you don't care about a girl that was raped, but you love the death news." Anything morbid was bad news for Hinata. _Such an innocent girl. _

Ketyn shrugged again. "The father raped the girl," she said aimlessly, even thought they hadn't announced the rapist yet.

I turned my attention back to the TV. The new anchor, a pretty blonde woman, was just wrapping up the story. "Police recently found out that the rapist was in fact the girl's father. He has been placed under arrest and awaits trial on Monday."

I shook my head and smiled. Leave it to Ketyn to find out who it was before the news anchor herself.

I was washing my plate in the sink when I heard the front door open and several voices, all female.

I walked out and saw Sakura, Ino, and Temari standing in the living room, talking to Ketyn and Hinata.

Sakura turned to me and smiled a greeting, then said, "We came by to ask how long it'll take to get you guys packed up for tomorrow. We're here to help if you need anything. Saku, you share a room with me, and Ketyn and Hinata will share a room, if that's okay.

_Okay? That's the best news I've heard all day!_ I've shared a room with Ketyn my whole life, and though she was my best friend, I needed a change. Besides, I liked Sakura. She had a certain charm to her.

Ketyn grinned up at said girl and said, "Okay, but it won't take long. Just gotta throw some clothes in a suitcase and trash the place for the next sucker that's movin' in."

That was true enough. We didn't have much. The place was rented. And we always trashed a place we had lived in before moving on. It was a tradition to see how pissed we could get the next guy that had to move in. That or the maids, but hey, we weren't gonna complain. Even Hinata joined in, and had a ball. It was nice to see her loosen up.

Sakura nodded in understanding. She had told us earlier that when she had moved in, all she brought was a small suitcase and her medical supplies, but Temari and Ino had taken her out to buy stuff, as well as let her borrow their things.

Ino smiled. She was a little too happy for me, but I couldn't complain. I lived with Ketyn.

"Great!" she replied. "We'll see y'all tomorrow, then, 'kay?" We nodded silently, and she laughed. It was a nice laugh.

Temari just looked at us and grinned. I could see the wheels in her head turning. _Probably to see who she could play matchmaker with first. _Sakura had told us that Temari liked to hitch people up. She had done it with Ino and Kiba, and was trying to do the same with Sakura and Sasuke. Her boyfriend Shikamaru, however, tried to stop her so that she couldn't embarrass herself and the others. He often failed.

After a second, Temari turned and went out the door with a small wave and an innocent smile. Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"She looked at you last, Saku. I have no idea who she's gonna try to hook you up with, though," the pink haired girl said. I pointed to myself, confusion on my face. _What the hell? Who would she hook me up with? That's stupid!_ Sakura laughed and said, "I'll try to stop her, don't worry." Then she was gone, too, with Ino right behind her. After a moment, Ketyn spoke up.

"Well, tomorrow's the day." _Tomorrow. Our lives change tomorrow. _I felt like something big would change. _But would it be a good change?_

_The next day, after school, General POV_

Naruto waited for the girls outside of school. When Saku and Hinata came out he greeted them and said, "Where's Ketyn?" Saku turned and searched for her friend in the crowd, then turned back and shrugged. "She was with us a second ago."

Sasuke and Neji came up then and greeted the two girls. When Naruto explained to them that they didn't know where Ketyn was, Sasuke nodded and turned to Saku. "Any ideas to where she could be?" he asked. Saku shook her head, then stopped and thought a moment.

"There is one place," she said. "Got any orchards near here?"

The guys looked confused, but Neji nodded and said, "Yeah, there's one down the street from here."

"In Suna, Ketyn used to go to an orchard near our school after school ended," Hinata explained. "She likes to think there."

Neji nodded and said, "I'll go get her." Then he turned and went to a motorcycle, hopped on, and zoomed off.

Sasuke turned to the other girls and said, "Sakura and Ino moved your stuff in earlier today, so all you gotta do is go trash it and then come with us." Hinata and Saku grinned at each other, then looked at Sasuke.

"That won't take long," Saku said evilly.

At the orchard, Ketyn was walking through the peach tree section when she heard someone walking behind her. She turned and saw Neji walking up. She grinned and said, "What's up?"

Neji coolly answered, "The trees."

Ketyn looked up and saw the tree, then looked at him. "Touché," she replied. Then she grinned at the boy.

"Why're you here?" she asked. Neji just shrugged.

"Your friends wanted me to come pick you up. Apparently you guys are gonna trash the place, then come live with us."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the trashing thing!"

Neji smiled. 'Well, come on, I'll drive you over," he said.

Ketyn nodded and followed Neji to the motorcycle. Then she hopped on after him and wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Try not to kill us."

Neji looked at her and gave her a smirk. "That would be Naruto, not me. But I can if you want to…"

Ketyn shook her head and said, "Never mind, just drive."

Neji nodded and said, "Hold on tight." She did, and he kicked the kickstand back, revved the engine, and sped towards the girl's apartment.

After the trashing of the apartment, which was also contributed by the other members of the gang, the girls went to the House and moved into their new rooms. Saku's room that she shared with Sakura was navy blue and green, and Ketyn and Hinata's room was light green and lavender. They searched the House, then met up with the gang downstairs.

"So, how do you like the House?" Sasuke asked.

Ketyn grinned and looked at Saku and Hinata, who nodded. Then she turned to Sasuke and said, "We love it."

Naruto gave a Chesmire grin and shouted, "Whoo! This is gonna be awesome!" The group laughed, and inside Hinata thought, _This __will__ be awesome. For all of us._

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**Well, that's it for chapter 4. Next up, FIRST MISSION! WHOO! Can't wait, y'all!!!! Afterwards is some trouble with the other gangs as tensions rise and a ****huge**** problem comes up! WHOO! Kick- ass time is next!!!!!!!!**


	5. First Mission, Part 1

Well, here it is! Chapter 5, the First Mission! This is the kick- ass chapter, where everyone's skills really come out! Yeah, the first fights in chapter 4 were cool, but nothing compared to the other fucking awesome stuff in this story!!!! It's gonna be AWESOME! And now, the setting is The House, about a week later.

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Saku woke to the first rays of light peeking out through the window. She glanced over at Sakura and saw that she was still sound asleep, then looked at the clock. It read 5:22 a.m. She let her head hit the pillow and look up at the ceiling. _So much has changed this week, _she thought. _It's awesome!_

She tried to get back to sleep, but failed, so she dressed into a dark green shirt and gray sweatpants, went down stairs and sat on the couch. She quietly turned on the radio and put it on the rock station. As she hummed along to the song, she absently flipped through a magazine, but looked up at a noise. It was Gaara. He was wearing a pair of baggy black pants, but hadn't put a shirt on yet. Earlier in the week this had aggravated her, but she had gotten used to the fact that Gaara's body temperature was higher than the other guy's, so he didn't wear layers. It was because he was from Suna, they said. The same was with Ketyn. In fact, when Sakura had once taken Ketyn's temperature, she freaked out when she saw it was 101.4 until Ketyn finally told her why.

"Morning," she said, looking at him. She actually looked at him this time. Her eyes stopped at his chest as he walked toward her. He stopped and let her look.

"Damn," she muttered.

"What?"

"You got some god damn sexy abs."

"Damn straight."

He walked over and sat next to her.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"Stop being hot, Gaara! It's killing me!"

Both of them laughed, and Saku got up.

"Hungry?"

"Always."

They walked into the kitchen to find that Naruto had eaten the leftovers from last night's dinner. Saku pulled out a pan and eggs. Gaara raised his eyebrows.

"Let Hinata take care of that," he said sitting on the table.

"I like giving her a break now and then."

Saku started cooking the eggs. Then she started adding some bacon and sausage bits left from yesterday. Gaara came over and watched her. He was about to reach his hand in and eat some of the bacon, but Saku whacked his hand with the spatula. He made a noise, and left it alone.

Saku pulled out some instant pancake mix and poured some in another pan. By the time she had finished, omelets and pancakes piled the plates.

Both of them started eating.

"So, why aren't you the housekeeper?"

"Because I could kill you right now."

"Nope."

Saku flung her fork at him. He dodged, but didn't see what came after it. Saku had cornered him to the edge of his seat, with her on top of him. She had her knife pointed at his stomach.

"Dead," she said with a smirk. Gaara's face almost turned a faint, light pink.

_Damn! What is with this woman? Now I'm blushing around her, too. I can't tell whether it's because she almost did kill me, or because she's so close to me. AUGH!_ Gaara was in complete confusion in his head, and Saku could tell.

"What's wrong, Gaara? Afraid to break a little rules," she said moving closer to him, so that her lips were only inches from his. Gaara was about to kick her off, but wasn't fast enough. Saku kissed him. And damn, did he enjoy it! For once, Gaara was shuddering helplessly in the arms of his teammate.

She pulled away with a smirk, and walked out of the room, her gun holster swaying with her hip.

"Shit," was all Gaara could mutter over and over.

"What's shit?" a voice asked. Gaara jumped and turned to find Sasuke, leaning against the kitchen door. _If he finds out about Saku, I'm dead! _Gaara thought, desperately trying to come up with an explanation.

"My life," Gaara mumbled. Sasuke snorted a laugh.

"Dude, we already know that," he said with a smirk. Gaara shrugged.

_Thank you sweet Jesus!_ Gaara thought, looking up to the heavens in prayer.

"Why are you looking up at the ceiling?" Sasuke asked, looking up, too.

"Asking Jesus to make my life a bit less shitty," Gaara replied. _Whoa, I'm on a roll._ Sasuke nodded.

"You do that," he replied, looking at his friend like he was crazy.

Later in the morning, the group was sprawled around in the living room. They were getting ready to talk about their next mission. The group had to steal a painting done by some famous person, and had to do it whatever the cost. Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji were grouped around a blueprint.

" Okay, who the hell keeps putting glass roofs on museums?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Can you break in without shattering it?" he asked his thief.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"No. I'd need to break it. Too many guards out front…unless…"

"Unless what?"

But Naruto didn't hear him. He was looking at Saku, who looked back and smirked evilly, obviously getting his unspoken message.

"Sounds good to me," she said.

"Umm…explain," Neji demanded.

"Naruto wants me to break in since I'm light on my feet and a girl."

"Sexist freak!"

"Shut up Sasuke. I meant girls tend to be more flexible and quicker and all together better for sneaking into high-security places. Plus, if they catch us, we can flirt without seeming gay."

Ketyn nodded. "She has a point."

"Of course I have a point." She looked over at Sasuke. "That fine with you?" she asked with a smirk. He sighed, but nodded, turning to Gaara.

"Gaara, follow her from the roof. If there's trouble, they can pay for their own damn glass." The other boy nodded.

"Keep the motor running too, Ino," he said. She nodded, jingling her keys.

"Wait, I wanna do something important!" Ketyn complained, with a pout.

"Fight off the guards in the back entrance. I'll take sides," Neji said. She pulled her hands back with a smile, muttering, "Oh yeah" under her breath.

"If we're gonna do it, then you should probably rest before you do. No point in dropping like flies. Plus, you'd fight like crap if you did," Sakura said, her hands out in a what-are-you-going-to-do pose.

_That night, 11 o'clock General POV_

The second Ino drove a block away from the museum, Gaara and Saku jumped out of the sliding door. They scaled the gate, and Gaara disappeared in the shadows, while Saku started to walk casually toward the doors. Only problem was, there was a guard waiting. He was young, making it even harder, because it would mean he would want to do his job full out.

"Museum's closed, miss," he said to her. Saku smirked thinking, _this is gonna be too easy._

"Really? A friend of mine said it was open till midnight," she said with an innocent smile.

"You're friend was wrong," the guard said, not giving. _Innocent's not gonna work...Ok how 'bout flirt._

Saku was wearing a tight biker suit, with only a small undershirt and sport pants on under it. She started fanning herself with her hand.

"Man, it's hot out. Mind letting me in to cool down?" Saku asked, tugging at her zipper, moving it down just a bit.

"Uhhh…" He was trying to keep his face straight, but Saku could tell she was winning when he swallowed hard.

She unzipped it a bit more, and then gave a heavy sigh. The guard was staring at her now with the look of a hungry man that had just been given a feast. _Pervert! _she thought, but continued to unzip it farther and farther.

Finally the guard swallowed nervously and said, "I guess I could let you in this once, miss."

_Score!_ she thought, but just gave him a seducing smile and walked in, brushing against him as she walked up the steps. She could feel the man stiffen.

She opened the door and stepped in and came face-to-face with Gaara. He looked at her the way a parent looked at a guilty child and said, "What the fuck, Saku." It was more of a statement then a question.

Saku shrugged and gave him the same seductive smile she had given the guard, but it didn't seem to work. His fingers reached for the zipper and slowly pulled it up, then he wrapped his arm around her waist and jerked her towards him. "Nice try, but it doesn't work that way." Then he let her go and walked away, leaving her slightly flustered. She glared at his retreating figure and thought, _damn it, why does he do that? It's __my__ job to make __him__ flustered! Fucking asshole._ She followed him, though.

At the end of the hallway, Gaara turned and stopped her. He leaned against the wall and looked around the corner, then turned back to her. He held a finger to his lips and silently began assembling his gun. He added bullets, put on a silencer, and finally cocked it, then gestured that she did the same. She quickly began assembling the parts. When she was done, he nodded and suddenly turned the corner and fired a single shot. There was a thud and Gaara gestured that she follow. However, she saw the guard behind him and shot him right between the eyes.

"I thought Ketyn and Neji had the guards," she whispered to Gaara. He shrugged, snuck up to the window and knocked three times. A few moments later, two knocks came from behind the window and Gaara easily slid it open. Naruto and Kiba climbed in and landed in a crouch silently. Then they stood up and ran down the next hallway, Gaara and Saku behind them.

"Would you like a martini, James Bond?" Saku teased Naruto.

"It's Mr. Bond to you. 007 if you please. And yes; shaken, not stirred," Naruto said, smirking as they reached the gallery. Ketyn was leaning against the wall next to the painting.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" she asked them. Saku opened her mouth to say something, her finger pointing like she was going to make a point, but gave up.

"Back door was unlocked?" Kiba asked.

Neji came in and nodded and Saku sighed. "So I stripped for nothing?"  
"You stripped?!?!" All the guys shouted, except for Gaara, who just rolled his eyes.

"Damn straight I did, and looked fucking sexy if I do say so myself!"

Gaara shook his head, but in his mind he was shouting, _Oh fuck yes!_

Ketyn rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, let's get this painting out of here." She reached for it, but was stopped when a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned and saw Hinata.

"Wait," she said quietly, and took out a smoke bomb. She pulled out the tab and rolled it towards the painting. When the smoke poured out, they all saw several red lasers that criss-crossed over the painting.

"There are infer-red lasers that protect the painting. If the don't slice your hand off, then they'll definitely sound an alarm, which will have every guard running here in seconds, where you'll be shot down," she explained. "Shikamaru looked up the painting and found it's one of the most priceless paintings in the whole state, so I figured that it must be protected. I was right."

Ketyn grinned at her friend. "Wow, thanks Hinata!" she said, and Hinata smiled.

"No problem. Now Shikamaru said that to cut off the lasers you have to-" she was cut off though, when Naruto intervened.

"Kiba and I know what to do from here," he said, and Kiba nodded. Naruto went to a control panel nearby and opened it. While looking at the lasers, he changed the positions of several wires, and then hit the big red button in the back. The lasers flickered, then shut off. Kiba put on a pair of gloves and carefully lifted the painting from where it hung and put it in the sack. Naruto shut the control panel and went over to the other sack they had and pulled out a replica painting, which he hung in the place of the real one. Then he went back to the control panel and hit the big green button next to the red one. The lasers flickered back on.

He looked at the group and nodded, then radioed Shikamaru.

"Yo, Shika, hack into the security cameras and erase the last five minutes off of the cameras for Hallway 4A and the painting," he said. A crackling came over the radio, and then Shikamaru's voice came on, confirming that he would get right on it.

"Ok, time to leave," Saku said, going to the door.

"I wanna break one of those for some reason…" Ketyn said, looking up at the glass roof. Neji shook his head and she pouted.

Naruto stopped and shouted, "Kiba, we forgot!" Kiba turned back and nodded.

"Damn it, I can't believe we forgot," he muttered. He went back to the painting, pulled out a piece of paper, and looked at Naruto. "You do it," he declared, and Naruto nodded and took the paper and pen.

He wrote furiously on the paper, and then, satisfied, passed it to the group. Ketyn took it and read it aloud.

Las estrellas son el único testigo a mis hechos.

_The stars are the only witness to my deeds._

Usted puede ejecutarse, usted puede ocultar.

_You can run, you can hide._

Pero usted nunca escapará… al ladrón de la noche.

_But you will never escape…The Thief of the Night._

"Okay, Naruto, what up with the Spanish?" Saku asked, looking at him expectantly.

"I need a reason to use Spanish?"

"Well…it _is _pretty fucking awesome."

"Damn straight it is."

"Okay, let's not stand here like a bunch of idiots just waiting to get caught with a priceless painting. Can we _please_ move on?" Ketyn interrupted, and the others nodded and went out through the back door.

Saku was the last one to leave, but she stopped and listened. Naruto put the painting in the trunk and gestured to the others to come, but they had stopped to watch Saku.

"What's up?" Neji asked, and Saku put a finger to her lips, motioning that Ketyn, Neji, and Gaara follow her. Then she crept back into the museum with the others close behind. She could see four bodies pressed close to the walls, two on each side. She pulled out her gun a let out a shot that whizzed just past one of their heads.

One of them came out with their hands held high. The others came out after him, their faces calm, but their bodies screamed out fear.

"We didn't know this mission had already been taken," one of them called out. His hair was brown with bangs that covered his forehead, his brown eyes wide.

"Shut up, Daisuke!" another one shouted, brown eyes glaring at the other boy, his hair covered by a hood.

"What I miss?" a guy, who was obviously gay, asked looking around confused. His black hair was cut jaggedly and his black eyes were darting back and forth from Naruto and Gaara, which was pretty gross.

One of the guys had glasses and black eyes with white hair, was scanning all around. He must have been one of the smarter ones.

"Go. The. Fuck. Away." Gaara was making his statement every clear, pulling out and reloading his gun.

"Aw, but you guys are so fun!" the gay one said smiling.

"Can it, Sai," the one with the hood said.

"You're so mean, Kankuro!"

"Our turf, get the hell out," Naruto said, waving the painting around.

"What makes you so sure we weren't here first?" the white- haired one said, smirking.

"Shut up, Kabuto," Gaara said.  
"This is fun and all, but we need to go," Saku said, pulling out a small smoke bomb.

Everyone in Last Crusaders covered their noses and mouths as Saku rolled the bomb along the floor. It activated, sending dark blue smoke everywhere. While the new guys coughed and tried to fight their way out of the smoke, the others quietly left the building.

Outside, they ran for the truck. Ino saw them and shifted into reverse, then stepped on the pedal and sped towards them. She screeched to a stop and Hinata opened the doors for them, whispering, "Hurry! They saw us!" while the others climbed in. Then Ino shifted into drive and slammed on the pedal, giving the others whiplash as she sped down the road, never slowing down, even on the turns.

While Ino did her crazy driving, Hinata turned to the group and explained, "Their driver saw us and was about to pull out her gun to shoot at us. Luckily, you guys ran out before she got the chance. Ino was about to shoot back." From her place at the driver's seat, Ino turned and grinned.

"You get the painting?" she asked, and Naruto held it up. She grinned again and turned back to the wheel. "Great. Then hold on!" With that, she floored the pedal and the car zoomed along the freeway, pushing 100 mph.

"How do you not get arrested?" Saku asked, and Ino grinned and looked at Saku by using the rearview mirror.

"The cops are afraid of us, especially Gaara. Ever since he started that drive-by shooting thing at the local police station, they haven't gone near us!"

Gaara just leaned against the back of the leather seat and smirked. Ino continued to explain, "He started the shooting because they were holding Kiba when they caught him stealing something. It caused enough of a distraction for Kiba to sneak out, and ever since then, the cops have hated and feared The Game!"

Saku laughed quietly and shook her head. This was almost too much like James Bond. All they needed now were some hot girls, Shawn Connery, and a fucking awesome sports car, and they could make another _007 _movie. Actually, they had the sports car. Saku had seen the black Ferrari in the garage the first day the girls had arrived. When she asked Sasuke about it, Sasuke replied that it was their toy, but wouldn't say where they got the money from to get it.

_We also got the girls, 'cause all us girls in the team are fucking hot, if I say so myself,_ Saku thought, and smiled slightly. _Damn it, where's Shawn Connery when you need him?_

Back at the house, Naruto explained to Temari, Sakura, and Shikamaru what they had missed while the others lounged around and watched TV. Sasuke and Neji were quietly discussing another mission, and Ketyn was asleep, her legs sprawled out in front of her as she leaned against the chair where Neji sat. Saku noticed that he was careful not to wake her and smiled. It was nice to know that these guys actually cared about them, and weren't just using them as weapons.

_The House, next day, General POV_

The Last Crusaderswere all sprawled around eating lunch in the backyard. Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara were all leaning against the tree, or in it, with Sakura lying on a low branch. Ketyn was on the other low branch, and the other girls were sitting on a bench, with Shikamaru leaning against Temari's legs.

"Wait, what?" Naruto was completely confused by what Shikamaru was trying to help him with homework, which was a mistake on his part.

"A squared plus B squared is equal to C squared and is the Pythagorean theorem which you have to use for your homework, moron!" Shikamaru sighed, explaining it for about the twelfth time. They all knew it was hopeless but he still tried.

"Oh my God! Look, this is how I'm freaking going to find X." Naruto took his pencil and circled the X in his problem and wrote, _Here's your fucking X!_

Shikamaru looked at the paper and shook his head. "Are you really that left-handed that you do your E's _backwards?_" he asked, and Naruto nodded, grinning at the intelligent boy. Shikamaru hit his forehead with his hand, and Temari grinned as she read the math paper.

"Wow, Naruto," was all she said, but it was enough. Saku went over and read the paper, then laughed and high-fived Naruto.

"Naruto, I thought you're handwriting was better than that. It sure looked better on the note you left at the museum," she said to the blonde, and Naruto grinned.

Just then, the group heard crashes from the front yard. Ino went to the fence and sighed.

"Some kids are being assholes," she explained, and Naruto grinned. He went to the front door, grabbed an umbrella, and went outside.

"You kids get off my lawn!" he shouted, waving the umbrella and acting like an irritated old man. The group laughed as they watched the kids stare at Naruto questioningly. Then Gaara grabbed a .44 caliber gun and went out to help Naruto. A second later the gang heard gunshots and screams, then the sounds of running feet. Naruto and Gaara both came out back, and Naruto laughed and sat on the ground.

"Okay, that was fun," he said, and Gaara nodded in agreement.

"Now if only they knew I was shooting blanks." The group laughed as Gaara leaned back against the tree, smirking evilly.

Ketyn looked up then and listened for a second, her head tilted in question. Neji looked down at her from his perch on a higher branch.

"What's up?" he asked the girl, but she put her finger to her lips and listened a second longer.

"Umm…I'm confused," she finally confessed. Saku shook her head.

"When are you not?" she asked the red head, and Ketyn shrugged.

"I don't know, but I won't be alone. Listen." Then she gestured for silence, and the group listened.

At first all they heard were the usual sounds: cars on the highway, birds chirping, the occasional screaming child. But after a second Sasuke raised his head.

"I hear it, and I know who it is," he said, and stood up. "Ketyn, Neji, Saku, Gaara, come with me," he said, and they stood as well, Neji jumping down from the tree. The rest of the group returned to their previous conversations as the five left.

Sasuke led them out to the front yard, where several boys were standing, motorcycles in park as they smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol, just like the other teams. Sasuke grinned and went up to a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Kyo, man, what the fuck are you doing here?" he asked, and the boy grinned.

"Hey, Sasuke, what's goin' on? Neji, Gaara, how ya'll?" The other two nodded in greeting at the boy, who returned the greeting.

"And who are these ladies?" he asked, looking at the two. Ketyn glared with a look that even Sasuke knew, though the girl had only been with them for a short while. The look practically screamed suspicion, as well as slight annoyance. It was a look that she reserved for most guys that she didn't know.

"Chill, Ket, this is Kyo, Kiba's cousin. He used to be in the Game when he was in high school, but he's in a more dangerous Game now that he's in college," Sasuke explained, and Ketyn immediately relaxed her look. She was almost too trusting towards people once she was introduced to them. She stuck out her hand, which Kyo shook, a smile on his lips.

"I'm Ketyn," she said by greeting, and Kyo raised his eyebrows.

"No last name, or should I not ask?"

"No last name."

"Orphan?"

"You could say that."

Saku rolled her eyes. "She doesn't talk about her past. I don't even know about it. I'm Saku, by the way." She nodded a greeting to him, and Kyo nodded.

"No last name, either?"

"Yeah, but you don't need to know it."

Kyo laughed. "I like this one! She's a lot like Sakura."

As if on cue, the girl came out the front door and into the yard. She rolled her eyes and sighed when she saw Kyo. "This sucks," she muttered, and Kyo laughed again.

"Sakura, you're gonna hurt my feelings," he sarcastically replied, and his group laughed as he gave the best pitiful look he could manage without cracking up himself.

"Oh, fuck you, Kyo," she replied, and Kyo grinned.

"Will you?" he answered, and Ketyn bit her lip to keep from laughing with the other members of Kyo's gang. Sakura glared at the boy, but finally broke down and laughed along with the rest of them.

"Why are you here, man?" Neji asked and Kyo shrugged.

"I was in the neighborhood-"

"You live on the other end of town."

"Fuck off, Neji. Anyways, Sasuke, I'm having a party with my group, Emiko's group, and a keg. Wanna come?"

"Hell yeah, dude. When is it?"

"Next Saturday."

"We'll be there."

Sakura rolled her eyes, and Kyo smirked at her. "See ya there, sweetheart." In response Sakura pushed Kyo onto his motorcycle.

"Go home to your girlfriends and your tequila, Kyo," she replied, and the rest laughed.

Once the older gang had revved up their engines and sped off, Ketyn turned to Neji. "Who they hell were they?"

Neji laughed. "That's Kyo's gang, or at least most of it. They're The Guilty Shotguns. They used to be in the Game, but they left high school two years ago. Now they're part of a college Game that's twice as dangerous and twice as fun."

"Fun. Riiight." Sakura rolled her eyes and returned to the back yard with the rest behind them.

Kiba was the first to see them. "Was that Kyo and The Guilty Shotguns?" he called to them, and Neji nodded. Kiba grinned. "When's the party?"

"How the fuck did you know it was a party?" Gaara asked, sitting next to the brunette boy. Kiba shrugged.

"It's Kyo. I know him, and I know he likes women, drinking, and parties. Since he came here and there were no gunshots or screams of terror, I guessed that he was inviting us to a party."

"Well, its next Saturday," Neji answered, climbing back up to the high branch he had been sitting on earlier. Ketyn followed him and sat next to him, looking down at the group as they talked. She finally turned to Neji.

"I don't get it. Why are they helping us? They're in college, and we're in high school."

"Yeah, but we're the only good guys in the Game this year. Two years back, The Guilty Shotguns were the only good guys, and last year it was The Rising Emos, which is Emiko's group. Emiko is Kyo's girlfriend."

"Sakura said girlfriends like it was plural, though."

"Sakura likes teasing Kyo about him being such a player and a classic gang leader. You know, alcohol, gambling, women, parties, cigarettes, motorcycles. The stuff you see in the movies."

"But not all of that stuff happens in this gang," Hinata said, frowning. The rest of the group laughed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Hinata, but we're not that type. We drink, sure, we have women, yeah, but the women are part of the gang, and the drinking isn't just limited to beer," Sasuke said.

"Yeah! We have martinis and tequila, too!" Naruto cut in, and the group laughed when Sasuke shot him a glare, and the blonde haired boy shut up.

"Anyways, we gamble, but not often. We have motorcycles-"

"Thank God," Ketyn muttered.

"We don't smoke, though. And we only attend parties held by Kyo and Emiko."

"I like this group," Saku said.

"Why?"

"Drinking, gambling, parties, violence, hot guys, the list goes on."

"You think we're hot?"

"Ask anyone."

"We could ask Ami."

"Don't you dare bring that bitch into this," Sakura cut in.

"Who's Ami?" Hinata asked.

"A bitch."

"We realize that, Sakura, but who exactly is she?" Ketyn said, trying to be patient.

"Leader of the Dirty Sluts. Total bitch. Has loved Sasuke since second grade when he threw Kankuro into the fountain. Doesn't try to hide it, either."

"We want to kill her, but she's well protected," Temari said.

"What does she look like?" Ketyn asked.

"A bitch."

"Shut up, Sakura. Ami has dark purple hair and green eyes." Temari was glaring at nothing.  
"Like I said, a bitch."

"Sakura, I don't want to kill you, because I'm probably gonna need you to heal me later, but I'm seriously considering injuring you right now."

"Just stating the facts."

"She's right, you know," Sasuke said. Ketyn looked at him.

"About the bitch part, the obsession with you part, or the leader of the Dirty Sluts part?"

"All three."

"Wow. That's interesting."

"Yeah, it's fascinating," Neji muttered sarcastically.

"No, I mean it's interesting that there are two girls from the Dirty Sluts in my history class. Their names are Tsuki and Yuki, and I think that they're twins."

"Bitches-in-training."

"For once I agree with Sakura. They are bitches."

"That would explain why they're in the Dirty Sluts," Shikamaru murmured.

"Is he half-asleep?" Naruto asked Temari, looking over at the genius.

"I think it's more like three-quarters."

"Will you two shut up so that I can sleep?"

The group laughed, Temari and Naruto included. Then the phone rang, and Hinata went to pick it up, seeing as she was secretary.

"Hello?"

She listened a few moments, nodding at random times, then handed the phone to Sasuke. "He didn't say who he was, just that he needed to talk to you."

"Yo."

"_Hello, little brother."_

"Who is this again?"

"_The only brother you have, idiot."_

"Itachi?"

"_Yes, little brother. I just wanted to let you know I've returned to Konoha, and I'm going to get revenge for what you did to Sasori."_

"He deserved to die."

"_We'll see. Hope you don't mind losing a teammate."_

"Stay away from my team, you mother fucker!"

"_He he he…see ya later, Sasuke."_

The phone clicked and the dial tone rang, but Sasuke didn't let the phone drop from his ear. He stood there, anger and fury on his face, until Sakura came up and took the phone gently from his hands and replaced it on the cradle.

"Who's Itachi?" Saku asked.

"My older brother. He killed my family when I was a kid, and when I came to high school and joined the Game, I got revenge by killing one of his best friends. Now he's out to get me," Sasuke said, his voice raspy, like he was about to growl from the fury.

"So, I say we kill him."

Sasuke turned to look at Ketyn, who was leaning against the armchair that Neji sat in, as she usually did. Ketyn, who, although having been here only a few days, was determined to learn everything about everyone. Ketyn spoke her mind and always told them what she thought on a matter, not like it was the only opinion that mattered, but like her opinion at least did matter, that it was there and she wanted people to know it, as if she hadn't been asked her opinion much in her childhood, if at all.

Sasuke looked at this girl, with her flame red hair and determined eyes, and shook his head. No, he would not kill his brother. That was something he just couldn't do.

"Do you have any siblings, Ketyn?" The question, though simple, was also personal.

Ketyn thought a moment, as if mentally calculating something, then slowly nodded. "I had two sisters and three brothers," she said, but Sasuke managed to catch the past tense reference. Neji, apparently, had, too.

"Had?" Neji asked, and Ketyn nodded. "Did they die?"

"No, they didn't die. They're still in Suna. But I left, so they stopped considering me a sister. That's just how my family worked. You can't leave and expect them to keep you."

Gaara nodded. "That's how most families work in Suna. My family did the same when I left."

"Why do you ask, Sasuke?" Ketyn asked in return, turning towards the boy.

"If they betrayed you, what would you do?"

"What kind of betrayal are we talking about here?"

"Let's say that they killed the rest of your family. What would you do?"

Ketyn thought a moment. "I would want to know why," she finally declared, nodding her head for emphasis. "And then, if I thought what they had done was inexcusable and not in self- defense, then I would kill them, because if they were cruel enough to kill their own family, they couldn't stay on earth, because they would kill again. Only, that would make me like them, so if I didn't kill them, I would make sure that they were kept away forever."  
"So you see my problem? If I kill Itachi, I end up just like him, which is something I never want."

"So lock him away," Naruto replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, Naruto, you go catch him and put him in jail and let me know how it goes."

"You may have a point."

"So what are you going to do?" Hinata asked. Sasuke sat down on a chair and put his head between his hands.

"I have no good clue," he muttered, and Ino grinned at him.

"Okay, so we figure it out. Together. We're a gang, remember? We all contribute."

Sasuke laughed. "Alright, fine," he agreed reluctantly.

"Good. Now, moving on to other business…what the hell are we going to do for Kyo's party?"

"Why, Ino? We do what we always do: drink, gamble, party, and hang out until six a.m. or until we pass out. Whichever comes last," Kiba answered, grinning at the blonde.

"This one has a dress code of black tie event."

"As in dresses and suits?" Saku asked. Ino nodded, and Saku grinned over at Ketyn. "Well, Ketyn, you're in some deep shit then, seeing how you don't own a dress and never have."  
Neji looked down at her from his place of leaning on the couch. "You've never worn a dress before?"

"Nope," Ketyn replied, looking up into the boy's pale eyes. "Never in my life."

"Well, that's gonna change," Temari said. Then she looked at Sasuke. "We're going out soon. We as in us girls, so you guys do whatever you want."

Naruto grinned. "Sweet! No girls!" Sakura rolled her eyes at the boy, then turned to Temari.

"Why all of us?" she asked. Temari shrugged.

"Cause I'm gonna be bored and I know that the guys want a day to themselves so were all gonna go out and help Ketyn find a dress and probably pick one's out for ourselves."

Ketyn made a face and leaned back on the couch. "This sucks," Neji heard her mutter, and he looked at her. She glanced over at him and smiled at him, but it was a smile of regret, like she was thinking about killing either herself or Temari.

"Okay, guys, you all need to leave so that we can have the house to ourselves and not have to worry about you all," Sakura instructed them, and they nodded, relieved that they wouldn't have to look at dresses all day. Kiba grabbed the car keys from the table, threw one to Neji and the motorcycle keys to the others, and raced out to the garage. The others followed, and Naruto ran after the boy, hopping into the passenger seat of the truck that they owned and yelling "Shotgun!" for the world to know where he wanted to sit.

"Where are you guys gonna hang out?" Hinata asked, and Sasuke grinned.

"We're gonna go race," he replied, and Neji smirked. Sakura shook her head.

"No fucking way you all are racing those motorcycles. Not after what happened last time," she said, and Kiba groaned.

"That tree appeared out of nowhere," he protested, but Sakura held her ground. Sasuke smiled at her.

"Don't worry, we're driving go carts," he replied. "Only a lot faster and more dangerous go carts."

"Sweet." Shikamaru nodded his head in approval and climbed onto a green motorcycle after waving goodbye to the girls. He pulled a green helmet on, revved the engine and sped off, followed by Kiba one a blue one and Gaara on a red. Neji climbed into the SUV's driver seat and he and Naruto raced after them, and, after explaining to the girls that the would be back in a few hours, climbed onto a black motorcycle, pulled on his own helmet, and revved off after them. Sakura and Ketyn were the only ones in the garage by then, and Ketyn sighed and climbed the stairs back into the house, ready to face her doom, with Sakura close behind.

**Okay, end of Chapter 5. No, it wasn't kick- ass, but this is only part one. Part 2 ****is**** kick- ass, because there's a big fight scene and then a fucking awesome party with drinking and gambling, so trust me, this ain't over yet. And no, pairs haven't started up yet, but cut me some slack. They'll be arriving shortly!**


	6. First Mission, Part 2

Few words: PART II MAN! KICK- ASS! Oh, and preparation for the party…

It was a new day as Saku watched Neji and Ketyn train. Sasuke came up and sat next to her, watching on as well. Finally, without turning his head from the scene, he said to her, "Quite a girl she is. I'm glad I chose her. She certainly puts up a fight, even towards Neji, and she might even win against him someday."

It was true. Though Ketyn had tried, she had never truly won against Neji. Though they often tied, it wasn't a true win, and the other times when it wasn't a tie Neji won. Saku had never seen a man even think about trying to go hard on Ketyn, though they tried to defend themselves. It was their sexist minds that told them that she was just a girl and would never beat them, though she often did. Neji, on the other hand, fought against her as an equal, and never held back, but never intentionally hurt her. The last part, though, was him not wanting to hurt a fellow teammate, and Ketyn did the same to him.

"I think she's glad you chose her, too," Saku replied, and Sasuke did look at her then, grinning. It had been a few weeks since the girls had joined the team, but they had already accepted the three new girls as though they had known them for years.

"I am!" Ketyn shouted from her place in the training ground. Sasuke laughed, and even Neji stopped to give her an amused look before continuing sparring with her.

Sasuke stood up and called out to them, "Alright, you two. That's enough for today." The two obeyed, and Ketyn sighed in mock exhaustion and fell to the ground. Neji stepped over her and leaned down to help her up, which she accepted gratefully.

The group walked back inside to hear a bang from down in the basement.

"Gaara's awake," Neji said, making the girls laugh.

"Shut up," was the reply with another bang. Shikamaru sighed from his nerd cave, er, his desk with all the technology.

"He's gonna shoot someone and hurt them. Or himself," he said as another bang was heard from the basement.

Sakura came down and stopped at the base of the steps to listen to the gunshots down below, then shrugged and walked into the kitchen. "Morning," she called to the rest of the team, and mumbled replies were heard from those who were awake. Ketyn went into the kitchen to talk to her for a second.

Saku sat down in the armchair and called out to Ketyn, "Hey, Ket, what are you gonna do about the party on Saturday?"

"Don't remind me," was the reply.

Saku smirked and said, "You'll have to go eventually."

"Okay, I give up. What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked as Gaara came up from the basement, giving a nod as greeting and sat on the couch.

"It's formal attire for the party. Remember? Ketyn doesn't own any formal attire."

The group immediately turned to look at Ketyn, who stood at the doorway looking sheepish.

Sakura came in holding a cup of coffee and asked, "That's right, Saku said you don't own anything formal. Not even a skirt or anything?" Ketyn shook her head and Sakura shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?" she mused, and Ketyn glared at her.

"Look, I didn't exactly ever have enough money to buy something fancy, so I've never worn a dress before. My school outfit is the fanciest thing I own right now," she retorted, and Sakura sighed and sat down on the floor.

Neji gave Ketyn a smirk and said, "Honestly, we're not that surprised. You certainly don't look like the kind of girl to ever wear a dress."

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Neji," Ketyn replied. "I never liked dresses anyways. They're a complete waste of time."

Ino and Temari came down and sat on the floor. Ino turned to Ketyn and asked, "So you've really never worn a dress before?"

Ketyn threw up her hands in exasperation and shouted, "No! Now stop asking me, or do you want me to shout it to the world for you?!? You guys are making this such a big deal!"

Before anyone could make a smart retort, though, Shikamaru interrupted with some not-so-good news. "Umm, Sasuke, we've got a problem." Sasuke walked over to him and leaned over the chair he was sitting in.

"What's the problem?" he asked, and Shikamaru pointed to something on the screen.

"That is," he replied. Sasuke looked it over quickly before turning to Ketyn and Neji.

"I need you two to head over to the 7-Eleven down the street. Looks like there's gonna be some trouble with Kankuro's group," he said, and they both nodded, heading out the door with Neji only pausing for a moment to grab some sharp kitchen knives.

"Everyone else, get dressed. And someone wake up Hinata. We may need her," he said, and everyone nodded and ran up the stairs to follow the orders. Sasuke continued to look at the growing crowd that was Kankuro's group on the screen while praying that Ketyn and Neji could handle them long enough for the others to get there.

_With Ketyn and Neji, on the way to 7-Eleven, Neji's POV_

As Ketyn and I ran towards the 7-Eleven, I questioned Sasuke's plan. Two people against an entire gang? It wasn't very logical. Also, Kankuro's gang wasn't exactly small, and though the fighters weren't the best, but they were good enough to hold their own against two fighters.

I brought out one of the knives I had taken from the kitchen and held it out to Ketyn, who took it without question. I knew this would end with blood, and even though Ketyn didn't like taking a life, it might come down to that.

As we entered the 7- Eleven, the clerk took one look at us, two teenagers that were panting from a sprint and carrying knives, he pointed to the back door without question. I knew for a fact that he had once been a part of the Game, and still felt sympathy for the teams.

I grabbed Ketyn's wrist and pulled her closer to me, whispering in her ear, "I'm going out the back. Head up the roof and wait until the right time, then attack. We'll see how much information we can get for Sasuke, and besides, the gang is big, and I don't know how long we'll be able to hold them off until the rest of the team gets here." Ketyn nodded and I let go of her wrist, and she obediently went back outside to climb up to the roof. I watched her go, then went over to the back door and quietly opened me, slipping easily into the alley and hiding behind several garbage cans. The door closed with a soft click, and with the commotion going on in the alley, I doubted any of them heard or saw the door open and close. From my position I could easily see Kankuro's gang spread throughout the alley, listening to Kankuro tell them of a sneak attack he had planned against our team. I glanced up and saw a flash of red, telling me Ketyn was already on the roof. I sighed, not knowing just what to do, then sat back to listen to Kankuro's plan.

It was fairly simple, just waiting until the dead of night and attacking the House. His team seemed to like the idea, though, and shouts and murmurs of agreement were heard fro them as he gave specific instructions. The entire time, Kankuro was tossing his gun up and down, which was starting to make me anxious. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready for what was about to happen. Kankuro turned suddenly and fired a shot right at me, which hit the right side of my chest. Pain shot up though me, but it didn't last long. The last thing I saw was darkness pulling me down and the farther it pulled the closer I was to…

_General POV_

Ketyn jumped slightly at the sound of gunshot, but she didn't know what it was from. She jumped down and ran at Kankuro, stopping in front of him with the knife across his throat. He was surprisingly calm for a man about to die. Ketyn found out why as she heard at least four different guns being loaded, all of them aimed at her. However, she didn't relent. "What did you shoot?" she asked Kankuro, and he laughed.

"Nothing, sweetheart, just an annoying pest." He gestured towards the garbage cans, but Ketyn couldn't make anything out, though she was suddenly filled with dread. That had been Neji's hiding place. _Please, God, I know I haven't talked to you in a while, but if you're there, please don't let him die,_ she prayed silently. _I don't want him to die, and I'll do anything if you'll just let him live. _

"What's the matter, baby? Afraid now that you're alone?" Before Ketyn's reflexes could kick in, Kankuro knocked the knife from her hands and came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close enough that she could feel his breath on her face.

She glared at him and replied, "Not on your life." Kankuro laughed, and Ketyn used this moment to try to get away from him. However, his grip only tightened around her waist, and though she struggled, he wasn't planning on letting go any time soon.

"Where's your team, now?" he asked her mockingly.

"Why don't you turn around and find out for yourself?" a voice asked, and Kankuro spun around and released Ketyn, who grabbed her fallen knife and backed away.

Kankuro, in the mean time, had come face to face with Gaara's gun, as the boy smiled menacingly at the brunette. "Not so tough now," he reasoned. The rest of the gang was now spread through the alley, various weapons pointed at various people.

Sasuke coolly came up, knocking out the boy who had tried to attack him, and went over to Ketyn. "Where's Neji?" he asked, and Ketyn slowly pointed at the garbage cans. He went over to look and saw him out cold, a bullet wound in the right side of his chest. Blood was still flowing, so he was alive for the moment, but that could easily change any time.

Kankuro snapped his fingers and all hell broke loose. His men started attacking everyone and everything. Weapons were flying everywhere, and shouts of pain and anger could be heard. Sasuke saw Ketyn head for Sai, and Saku and Gaara were both aiming at Kankuro, though the son of a bitch was too fast.

Sasuke joined in as well, trying to get Kankuro, though he knew it was useless. For some reason no one had been able to injure Kankuro yet, because he was too damn fast.

At that moment, Sasuke felt a stab of pain and turned to see one of Kankuro's fighters, a man named Aoi, smirking at him. Somewhere in the chaos he had managed to get behind Sasuke and stab him in his arm with one of the many knives that were now lying in the alley, most covered in blood. Sasuke was about to knock him out when a shot rang out and Aoi suddenly clutched his stomach, falling to the ground in pain. Sasuke turned to see Saku standing there, gun still pointed at where Aoi had been. She grinned at Sasuke and turned back to shooting at Kankuro. He grinned back and, ignoring the pain in his arm, grabbed a gun from the ground with his arm that was still moveable and began shooting some of Kankuro's men.

Kankuro, no matter how stupid, was smart enough to realize he was losing, so with a quick whistle, several black trucks pulled up and those still able to walk ran over to the vans and climbed in, shots still ringing out from both sides. Then the van drove off, and the alley was quiet. Everyone stood frozen for a moment, waiting to see what would happen next.

Ketyn was the first to move. She ran over to the garbage cans and knelt next to Neji, checking his pulse and gesturing to Sakura.

Sasuke walked over to them as well and, with the help of Gaara, managed to support Neji enough that they could half- drag him over to the truck. Then they climbed in, with Ino driving and Sasuke sitting in the back next to Neji and Sakura as she attempted to extract the bullet from Neji's chest. Ketyn sat on the top of the final row of seats, one leg hanging off as she watched Sakura work. Though she was worried, there was an odd look of relief on her face, though Sasuke didn't know why.

Ketyn, on the other hand, was filled with relief that God had listened to her, for once in her life. She knew she hadn't prayed as often as she should, but that would change. For the first time, Ketyn felt like there really was a higher power watching over her, though He had never shown himself until now. _Thank you for listening,_ she prayed again. _I appreciate it more than You could know._

_At The House, Sakura's POV_

After wrapping Sasuke's wound, I went upstairs to Neji's room to see what I could do. When I arrived, I saw Ketyn sitting on the other side of the room, watching Neji. She looked up when she heard me, though, and smiled.

"Worried about Neji?" I guessed, and Ketyn laughed.

"Not really. I know you'll fix him, and besides, we have God on our side now."

_What does she mean by that?_ I wondered, but I shook it off, guessing it to be some religious belief Ketyn had.

"Why are you here then?" I asked.

Ketyn looked over at Neji. "They were having a meeting," she started. "A meeting about…something. I'm not sure what. But Neji must have heard what it was about, and when he wakes up, I'm going to ask. I just hope it won't be too late when he does."

"Don't worry, it won't take too long. I already took out the bullet, but I had to enlarge the wound to do that, so I just have to stitch that up and he'll be good as new," I replied, then sat by the bed. Ketyn stood and came to sit next to me, watching as I carefully stitched up the wound. It would leave a scar where the stitches were, but that was nothing new. Neji was covered in scars from previous injuries, though none of them had been as bad as this.

After I had finished I stood and went to the door, then turned and looked at Ketyn. "You really should get some rest," I advised. "You had a tough day."

Ketyn looked at me and grinned. "Don't worry, I've gone without sleep before."

"Still, I don't know how long he'll be out," I urged. "You really should try to…" I stopped, knowing arguing with her as useless.

She nodded and turned back to Neji. "I'll see," she said, though I knew she would never follow my advice.

I shook my head and left the room. She was so stubborn.

_Midnight that night, Neji's POV_

_Crap, I've died and now I'm in hell…Wait no I can move my body…_I moved my arms around slightly making sure they were still there. I opened my eyes, expecting to see fire and pitchforks but instead saw a white ceiling. _Ha, take that Sasuke. I am a good guy after all! _It took me a moment to realize it was my room. After a look around I saw Ketyn sitting in a chair by my bed. She was asleep, looking peaceful for once. _Okay, maybe I am in heaven_, I thought, looking at Ketyn, but shook those thoughts from my mind. _No, bad thoughts. Very bad. _I sat up and glanced around, tying to figure out the time. I finally found the clock's location and read 12:00.

A sudden pain in my head made me wince, and I held my head in my hands, willing the pain to stop. I had gotten migraines before, usually after I was injured, and I was almost always able to will it away. This one however, didn't want to leave.

I sighed and, controlling the urge to just lie back down and fall asleep, stood up to find Sasuke and tell him about Kankuro's plan. When I stood up, though, I saw Ketyn standing by the doorway, smiling at me.

"You're up!" she exclaimed.

I stretched and gave her a smirk. "I assume we won?" I guessed, and she nodded.

Then she seemed to remember something, and she walked up. "What were they having a meeting about, Neji?" she asked, and I sighed. I sat down back on the bed and looked at her, and she kneeled down next to me.

"Neji, were they planning something against us?" she guessed, and I nodded.

"They're planning a surprise attack against us. They've teamed up with Sound Absence and are ready to attack us sometime in two months."

"Two months? That seems a bit long."

"And I'm afraid they might move it now that they know we heard."

I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. I knew Ketyn was watching me for a second, then I heard her stand up. "Come on," she said, and went to the door before turning back and waiting for me.

With a small sigh, I slowly stood up, careful not to get dizzy, since it usually happened with a migraine and the fact that I had just been shot. Then I followed her out to the hallway and downstairs.

For some reason everyone was still awake. Sasuke grinned and stood up when he saw me, then came over and put his arm around my shoulders. "You feeling better, man?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Good, because we were worried," Saku admitted. I gave a smirk.

"No need to be worried," I replied. "It's not the first time I've been shot, and it sure as hell won't be the last."

The rest of the night was me telling the gang about the surprise attack, and different plans we should have just in case. Finally, as dawn came, we all went to get dressed for Friday, but were ready for Saturday to be here. For some reason Kyo's party had now become a reward for winning another round.

**That's Neji for you. The human ice cube comes alive! And yeah, there was foreshadowing in there, but not much. Next chapter is the party at Kyo's house, and everyone goes crazy. Also, you get to hear about a fuckin' awesome plan to get Kankuro out of their lives for a while!!!!!! It involves singing, so I need some songs, mostly girl singers and no country or rap please!! Find some for me please!!!!! THANKS!!!!!**


	7. Party!

This next chapter is where the gang heads over to Kyo's house for a fuckin' awesome party! WHOO!

_Saturday Morning, General POV_

Dawn emerged from behind the hills as the gang slowly awoke and prepared for a new day. Gaara looked out the window from his position in the armchair and sighed. Being an insomniac, he was always "the first up," but he hadn't told anyone about his insomniac disorder. At had been happening for years, and it was better if no one knew.

The real first one to wake up was Sasuke, who shook himself awake from his place on the floor and nodded at Gaara. "Tell me today's Saturday," he said, and Gaara smirked and nodded. Sasuke smirked right back and stood up to stretch. Then he looked around at his sleeping gang, considering waking them up, but decided against it.

Ino and Temari were next up, both sleeping on the couch. They woke up Sakura and started to talk to her about things Sasuke knew Sakura had no interest in, but feigned interest to try to keep them from waking anyone else up with their evil ways.

Unfortunately, they did wake up Saku, and this they found out as a result of a pillow being thrown at them. It hit Temari square in the face, then fell away to show the blonde scowling. Saku slowly stretched and repositioned herself so that she was sitting cross- legged, glaring right back at Temari. Ino rolled her eyes and distracted Saku by asking her random questions.

Saku looked over at Hinata, who was sleeping peacefully next to her, and decided against waking her. She had been tired a lot recently, considering she had a whole house to keep running smoothly. Any real estate agent would say that wood was the foundation of this house, but it was truly Hinata, who cooked and cleaned and did everything that was needed to keep it from falling apart.

Kiba was next up, considering how Ino kept messing with his hair. He swatted her hands away and sighed as she only giggled and went right back to messing with it. Her giggling woke up both Neji and Naruto. Neji silently stood and went to talk with Sasuke, while Naruto groaned and stood to stretch, looking like a cat in the process.

Naruto looked over and saw Ketyn sleeping up on the other couch in the room, then grinned evilly.

"Naruto, don't even think about shouting to wake her up," Saku warned. Naruto, however, wasn't planning on yelling. He simply grabbed a pillow and hit her with it. Ketyn sat up suddenly, glaring at Naruto and slowly reaching for a knife. Hinata, thankfully, chose that moment to wake up and stopped Ketyn from killing Naruto by grabbing her wrist and shaking her head silently. Ketyn sighed and stood to talk to Ino, who was beginning to become obsessed with messing with her hair. Ketyn's hair, still in a ponytail, was soon attacked by Ino, who began braiding it while still in its ponytail, since Ketyn had told her never to take it down.

Shikamaru was the last to wake up, as always. He slowly sat up and stretched a bit, then stood up and went over to his laptop and began typing away on something he had been working on. Ever since Neji had told the gang about the surprise attack by Kankuro's team, he had been clicking away on his computer, coming up with possibilities to stop Kankuro long enough for the team to get their bearings and prepare to counterattack Kankuro's team.

Ketyn rubbed her eyes sleepily and asked, "Shika, have you come up with anything?" She had grown used to calling him Shika, because it was "easier to say," as she said.

"I have a few ideas," Shikamaru said. "But they all have some flaws, so I'm trying to fix them."

"Shikamaru, every plan is going to have flaws," Sasuke retorted, walking into the room with Neji. "The idea is to find a plan with the least amount of flaws."

"I know, but some of the flaws are dangerous for us," Shikamaru replied coolly. "I'd rather not have any of us died just to get Kankuro out of our lives for a while."

Ino stood up suddenly and shouted, "Shit!" Everyone turned and stared at her, and she looked guiltily and said, "Sorry. It's just that Kyo's party is tonight, and none of us girls have anything to wear. Well, Temari and I do, but we want new ones. Plus, we have o get Ketyn a dress."

"Don't remind me!" Ketyn shouted, and buried her face in a pillow. Ino patted her head, then turned to Kiba and asked, "We still have money from the last raid, right?"

Kiba nodded and said, "We also have money from the painting we stole from the museum a few days ago. We sod that on Ebay and got $10,000."

"Holy shit, you got $10,000 from one fucking painting?" Saku asked, and Kiba grinned.

"We said it was a da Vinci piece, and some idiot who didn't know his art and had way too much money bought it immediately."

"What a moron," Naruto laughed as he came in and sat next to Ketyn.

"You guys are assholes," Temari retorted. "The cops are probably going to come now and arrest you for cheating an idiot out of his money."

"And if that happens, there's no way they can have any proof. There are no fingerprints on the painting, and they can't trace the Ebay account because we deleted it yesterday."

Sasuke just shook his head and said, 'Okay, Ino, since you're so worried about getting dresses and finding one for Ketyn-" he stopped as said girl groaned, "Then we'll give you some money, you girls can go shopping, and us guys will go racing." There were cheers from Naruto and Kiba, and even Gaara grinned at that. Neji just smirked and leaned back, and Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"What do you race?" Saku asked, and Sasuke gestured he follow her. She did, and he took her out to the shed, where six cars were covered up. He pulled the cover off of one to reveal a 2010 yellow Camaro with a black stripe. "Naruto and Kiba stole six fast cars, all different. We go out to an empty road and race them."

"Nice," Saku said, and Sasuke shrugged with a grin.

"We like to think so," he said, and they went back into the House.

"So, that's the plan. Us guys will come home early and change, then meet you at Kyo's house. Got it?" he said, and Ino nodded excitedly.

Ketyn rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever," and Ino cheered.

"That means 'yes' to me!" she cried, then went upstairs with Temari to get changed. Saku followed soon with Sakura, and Hinata left after saying goodbye to the guys. Ketyn stayed where she was, leaning against the couch.

"Not going up to change?" Sasuke asked, and Ketyn shook her head.

"I'm sure Ino will make me soon enough, but I figure if I don't get changed I don't have to go shopping with them."

"You're such a tomboy," he laughed, and Ketyn grinned.

"I know," she replied. "But that's what makes me unique."

The guys left after saying goodbye to Ketyn, and she sighed, standing up to slowly walk up the stair. The last thing she wanted was to shop, but it was better I she cooperated and got it over with.

The girls were all in Ino and Temari's room after Ino had declared that everyone was going to borrow stuff from them today. Their closet looked like a miniature Hot Topic store, and Saku was just fine with that. They dove into the clothes, and soon had chosen what to wear.

Saku had chosen a short black skirt over a pair of black flair jeans along with a blood red tight shirt. The shirt had a black guitar on the front and random black splatter on it, and she wore black converse. Her hair was down, with one braid in the front.

Sakura now wore a red spaghetti strap tank over a white shirt and a black mini skirt with small black heels. She tied her hair back into a bun with strands of hair framing her face.

Ino had already changed into a pair of bright blue skinny jeans and a tight white shirt with pink and purple splatter on it. Her hair was back in its usual high ponytail and she wore black Vans.

Hinata had gone for a little more innocent look, so she wore a short sleeved purple hoodie with jeans and a pair of white flip flops. Her hair was down, but with Ino's helped she had manage to put some small braids randomly in it.

Finally only Ketyn was left. After much thought, she let Ino pick out her outfit with the promise of nothing skanky or pink, and was now wearing a tight white shirt with gold sleeves that ended at her elbows, a pair of gray stonewashed jeans that had gold and white paint splatter on it and a pair of gold Converse with white laces. Her hair was in its usual ponytail, but she had left in the braids that Ino had put in them earlier.

"Alright, we all look sexy, now let's go!" Ino cried, and they went outside and climbed into the SUV after calling out that she was driving, with Temari mumbling about how unfair it was. She sat in the passenger seat, and Ketyn sat on the cup container between them, facing backwards. She always liked sitting in a place where she was sure to die if they got in a car crash, but Hinata didn't say anything because she knew Ino was a safe driver. Saku, Sakura, and Hinata sat in the back.

Ino revved the engine and, while breaking at least 11 speed limits alone, drove madly to the mall. When they got out, Sakura jumped out and dramatically shouted, "Land!" causing Ino to hit her. Ketyn laughed and walked on, and soon everyone caught up with her as they walked into the mall.

Several hours later they arrived at the House to find this note written by Sasuke:

_Girls-_

_We came back and you weren't here, so we got changed and went over to Kyo's to screw around until the party officially starts. Try to look hot, though that won't be too hard. I hope you found a dress for Ketyn that actually makes her look like a girl, and a hot one at that. She needs to learn some stuff from Ino, obviously. See you at the party, it starts at 9._

_-Sasuke_

_P.S. Naruto says hi (idiot)_

"Well, that was interesting," Saku said after Sakura had read the note aloud. When Sasuke had mentioned them all looking hot Hinata had blushed, and when he had mentioned Ketyn she had glared.

Ino clapped her hands and said, "Alright, let's go show Sasuke how hot we really are!" Then she ran upstairs and the others followed.

When they got into Temari and Ino's room, Ino took charge, sending girls into the bathroom and changing quickly so that she could help. She was actually quite useful, though it was Temari who was the best with makeup.

Ino changed into a deep purple, one shoulder mini dress and heels, then arranged her hair into a low side ponytail with braids in it.

Saku went out into the bathroom and returned a few moments later wearing a black and red dress that ended mid thigh. She wore black leggings with it, and she wore black heels. She allowed Ino to curl her hair and put it in a low ponytail.

Hinata came out wearing a white tube dress with black trim and a black belt in the front. She wore black heels and kept her hair down, but Ino took two pieces and pulled them back before pinning them with a clip, making a halo- like hairstyle.

Temari wore a jumper dress with a black and white plaid design and black flats. Her hair was out of its four ponytails and instead was in one simple bun with her bangs hanging in front of her face.

Sakura was already wearing a black dress that ended a bit above her knees with a fitted waist and dark green trim. She had black leggings on underneath that, and wore black heels. Her hair was in a high ponytail with her bangs framing her face.

Ketyn finally came out. She was wearing a black dress with a lace- up front, like a corset. The dress had a fitted waist and flared out some after that, ending a few inches above her knee. She wore black flats with, and when she walked in the room, she struck a pose dramatically.

Ino came over and said, "Now, what to do with your hair…" She was obviously thinking of letting it down, but Ketyn had already done that and, looking at the clock, decided there was enough time to go through with her plan. She turned to Ino and said, "Can you cut hair?" This startled the blonde, but after a moment she grinned.

"Damn straight I can. How short you want it?" Ketyn gestured to around her shoulders, and Ino got a pair of scissors.

"Why do you want to cut it?" Sakura asked. Ketyn shrugged.

"Because the reason it's so long is because I've been afraid to cut it," she explained. "Something about a stranger holding scissors to my neck just freaks me out. But I know and trust Ino."

Ino grinned and, measuring it with her eyes, began to cut. The second she cut off a strand it curled up even more, until it was a mop of tight curls at Ketyn's shoulders. Then she proceeded with the rest of the hair until it was all like that. She ran a brush through it, then cleaned up the hair easily.

Ketyn looked in a mirror and grinned. "Always wondered what my hair would do if it was cut," she mused. Then she shook it out and turned to the others. "Well, I'm ready," she said, and the others grinned.

Saku sighed and said, "Alright, let's go. It's almost nine." They went downstairs, got in the SUV, and drove off with Temari driving at ridiculous speeds and Sakura shouting at her to slow down.

When they arrived, the guys were already inside, and loud music could be heard from the house. The house itself was huge, with at least four floors and large white pillars at the front. The girls all went in and were greeted by Kyo.

Ino was the first I, and when Kyo saw her, he grinned and shouted to the crowd, "Yo, guys! Ino's here!" The crowd cheered and Ino struck a pose until Temari came in and pushed her, rolling her eyes. Then they both went to find the guys. Sakura came in with Saku, Hinata and Ketyn and brushed past Kyo, who looked at her in a suggestive way. She just flipped him off and followed Ino and Temari with Hinata and Saku. Ketyn was looking around for the moment, and soon some girls came to talk to her.

Ino and Temari had found the guys and stood with them, talking about random things. Saku came up and stood next to Sasuke, who looked down at her, then nodded. "You look good," he commented, and she grinned.

"When don't I?" she teased, and Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked over at Hinata, who was standing off some. "Hinata, what the hell are you doing over there?" he asked. "Get over here so we can see what you look like!" Hinata blushed and came over, and Ino came over and put her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Doesn't she look good?" she asked, and the others nodded. From the corner of her eye, Saku saw Naruto blush a bit and look away, and she smirked and whispered the fact to Temari, who grinned evilly.

"That'll work," she agreed. "We'll work on it later." Saku laughed.

Sasuke looked around, then turned back to Ino. "Where's Ketyn?" he asked, and no spun around, searching for her.

"Where the fuck did she go?" Saku asked. "She was just with us."

At that moment Ketyn came out through the crowd, and Ino grinned and waved. "There she is!" she shouted, and ran over to go get her.

Sasuke turned back to Saku. "Which one is Ino talking about?"

Saku grinned and said, "Look." Sasuke turned and saw Ino talking to Ketyn. However, he didn't know that Ketyn had cut her hair, so he was still confused.

Ketyn came over then and stood next to Naruto, who looked at her and asked, "Who's this?" Ketyn looked up at him questioningly.

"Cut the shit, Naruto, it's me," she said. Naruto grinned.

"Ketyn?" he shouted, and she rolled her eyes.

"No, Naruto, it's the Easter Bunny. Happy Easter," she answered sarcastically.

"Holy shit, it is Ketyn," Neji muttered. Sasuke just shook his head, grinning. Then he reached over and pulled on a strand of her now- short hair.

"What happened?" he asked. Ketyn shrugged.

"I don't know, I got bored with my hair, so I asked Ino to cut it. Why?"

Kiba grinned. "Because now you look like a chick. A hot chick at that."

"Better watch it Kiba, you got a girlfriend," Ketyn warned, but Ino just laughed.

"Please, that's just him complimenting you," she said, and Ketyn laughed.

"So, Ketyn. First time in a dress, short hair. How does it feel?" Gaara asked. Ketyn grinned.

"For the first time in my life I feel like a chick," she replied, and the group laughed.

_Same Time Neji's POV_

When I had first seen Ketyn, I hadn't even recognized her. Ino had run over to her, and I thought she was just some hot friend of Ino's. I wasn't expecting it to be Ketyn. Now that I knew, I wasn't sure what to think.

It was against the Rules to fall in love with a player in the Game, but that hadn't stopped Ino and Kiba, or Temari and Shikamaru. _God, this isn't working out the way it was supposed to,_ I thought. When I had first seen Ketyn, the day she walked into the lunch room, I had thought she was hot, yes, but so did most of the population of guys. I had told myself that even though I could be her friend, I wouldn't let anything else come up. _Jesus, why does she do this to me?_

The rest of the night, which, as Sasuke promised, was filled with drinking and dancing, I tried to avoid looking at Ketyn more than necessary, to see if I could.

I couldn't.

**Aww, it's so cute. Okay, I know there hasn't been a lot of romance except between Gaara and Saku and some Ketyn and Neji, but the next one will have more!!!!!! And the next one is their plan to get rid of Kankuro! I hope the plan is good, but if not, oh well! **


End file.
